Silver Linings
by Beatriz
Summary: C/T - I'm going to tell you a story about love, the sacrifices it makes to keep itself alive, and how it completely transforms and sometimes destroys the lives of the people encircling it. o_O * CHAPTER 7 NOW UPLOADED * o_O - ! R&R ! -
1. Introduction An Ode To The Complexity O...

*-------* Introduction *-------*  
  
  
  
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Sometimes, I would run away to my own Utopia, and look into the star infested sky with a child's curious eyes. To the highest mountaintop, overlooking the luminous city sky lights in the pitch black heavens where the doubts of my ever searching conscience would slowly begin to sedate.  
  
  
  
There, my love, I would soar into the perpetual beauty which fills my lungs with the sweet and honeyed breath of Atlantis. A breath that inflates my being with the profound beauty your existence throws to me. I lie motionless under the stricken moonlight, your gaze briefly permits to escape, allowing me a single glimpse of pure perfection entwined in a heightened vision of momentary bliss.  
  
  
  
Tears would radiate as I awaken from such a revelation of hope reinstated. My eyes would behold the   
abysmal passion once perceived to be the inspiring sensation humanity would embrace to move itself to heights a bird could not fly to. Deny what you must, but such intensely vivid beauty cannot be hidden, but only momentarily shielded from the harsh realities of this unprecedented world.  
  
  
  
- 07.20.02 - An Ode To The Complexity of Human Emotion  
  
  
  
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This story is dedicated to Rich, who was taken from this world too quickly, but never removed from my heart. I think about him constantly, which gave me the inspration to write this story. 


	2. Seeing Red

- ! C l o t i ! - Silver Linings is without a doubt : AU. The story line of Tifa and Cloud's past has been reverted. Tifa is the loner while Cloud is constantly embellished with company and admirers. Cloud and Tifa know each other {small town} but they're not exactly friends because of reputation's sake. This story will take place during the time frame of both protagonist's teenage years while the original Final Fantasy VII cast will be added into the story for effect.  
  
  
  
- ! Warning ! - This story will actually be rated R. The only reason it's found under PG-13 is because I wanted it to be listed as a readable item. Silver Linings will contain adult language, sexual content, drug usage, and some violence. If you have any unsolved issues with the following topics then why are you still reading : C-ya! You have been warned and if I receive flames about these issues, those unnecessary comments will go where they were intended : the trash.  
  
  
  
- ! Author's Shout Out ! - I respect everyone's opinion because everyone has a right to one but please show some human emotion and let the words you say be constructive criticism. I appreciate every single one of my readers, but I don't appreciate attacks on my ego. I was so satisfied on my work on The Thin Line Between that I decided to write another Cloti. Now here's the catch. I am working on another story aside from this one and I'm going to need you, the reader's, help. I'm going to place a snippet up AKA the first chapter. If you like the story and want me to continue, review and tell me so. If I see that I'm getting an audience, I will 'definitely' continue. If I get no reviews, I will trash this story and focus on my other. I hope you all enjoy this as much as I did writing it. Peace!  
  
  
  
- ! Disclaimer ! - Final Fantasy VII and the characters involved in that game do not belong to me. They belong to Square.  
  
  
  
  
  
- Silver Linings -  
  
  
  
  
You fell away, what more can I say?   
The feelings evolved, I won't let it out  
- Chester Bennington - System  
  
  
  
  
  
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The truth isn't always a beautiful thing, yet the truth will never hold false promises against you. It's hurtful and spiteful at times but it keeps the hope alive and restrains the fragile glass of your dreams from completely shattering. I'm going to tell you a story. A story which explains that our world is more surreal than you could ever imagine. I'm going to tell you a story about love, the sacrifices it makes to keep itself alive, and how it completely transforms and sometimes destroys the lives of the people encircling it.  
  
  
  
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She sat on the large couch alone, a cigarette hanging limply from her pink lips. Her father hated it when she smoked and it would be a lie to say the sudden urge of developing lung cancer at such an early age wasn't due to that small fact. It wasn't all his fault, though. Life in general was just too complicated for a teenage girl of her position to deal with alone.  
  
  
  
"Tifa, you shouldn't be smoking dear. It's not proper for a beautiful young lady such as yourself to do so."  
  
  
  
Tifa averted her eyes from the small cracks in the wall ahead to the prodding woman above. Aunt Faye. Leave it to this woman to get into someone else's business even if it were the last place she belonged. With her bobbed red hair and large aqua eyes, she looked almost shy and innocent to the strangers of the outside world. It only took one word from that huge mouth of hers to prove that expectation completely false.  
  
  
  
Her small fingers removed the slim tube from her mouth, blowing excess smoke into the air around the nosy antagonist, and coldly responding, "So sew me."  
  
  
  
Faye looked more saddened than rightfully angry. It wasn't easy showing patience to a girl who completely defied the definition of obedience but that was hardly the reactant to her sorrow. Slowly, but surely, she was losing her once charismatic niece to the bitter character who the redhead was currently making eye contact with.  
  
  
  
Shaking her head, Faye softly replied, "It isn't bad enough that you're smoking and doing God only knows what else but what makes it worse is I'm losing the niece I loved so long ago."  
  
  
  
"You're not losing her.......you've already lost her. She's dead and she's never coming back," Tifa curtly said before putting out the run down cigarette in the ashtray besides her and making a quick escape.  
  
  
  
"Tifa, please come back and talk to me! You can't run forever," Faye shouted after her retreating niece as she held back severe frustration within by clenching her fists into a tight ball.  
  
  
  
  
"Don't tell me she's back to her old ways."  
  
  
  
The blue eyed woman turned quickly to come face to face with Tifa's father's worried brown eyes. He looked so tired lately and much older than thirty-nine. Mr. Lockheart's life seemed to be withering away under scrutinizing eyes and it was a sad realization. This was the man who's personality was literally unable to stray away from lively amounts of energy and, in no doubt, the poster child for a natural high.  
  
  
  
"Her mother just died. Do you honestly blame her," Faye pointed out while crossing her arms across her chest and staring at the door Tifa had walked out through. Her oval eyes peered intensely, almost expecting the angry brunette to storm back in and apologize. The key word being almost.  
  
  
  
"I'm not angry at my daughter for mourning her mother. She loved her very much," Mr. Lockheart explained carefully as his shaky hand ran through his dark hair nervously, "I'm angry at the fact that by acting the way she is, she's completely allowing her life to fall down the drain. I know she's smoking but God only knows what else she's doing! I wouldn't be surprised to find a huge bag of heroin under her bed!"  
  
  
  
"That's enough," she growled between clenched teeth while noticing other curious eyes shifting in their direction, "Tifa may be in trouble, but I would expect you of all people to know why that is."  
  
  
  
Both adults were deathly quiet for a moment, obviously contemplating what was just said. He knew what Faye meant and just the mere mention of his past mistake brought tears to his eyes. The error had happened a year ago, while his wife was suffering with the illness which took her away from this world, but time still didn't heal his wounds. No matter how many years or decades would continue to exist, Mr. Lockheart would, or never could, forgive himself.  
  
  
  
"It was a year ago, can't you get over it," he murmured nervously as his eyes shifted around the room to make sure nobody else was eavesdropping in their conversation.  
  
  
  
"I can get over it but can your daughter ever forgive you for the sins you committed when her mother was on her deathbed. I know if it were me, I would tell you not to hold your breath."  
  
  
  
Faye's cerulean eyes stared her brother-in-law down before making a dramatic exit and leaving the much contemplating Mr. Lockheart to reminisce with the demons of his past.  
  
  
  
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The fragile-looking teenager kicked a pebble which resided outside the Lockheart household. It was so deathly quiet in Nibelheim that the exaggeration of actually hearing a pin drop wasn't exactly farfetched. The town was literally doused in such silence, the only visible threat seemed to be possible insanity.  
  
  
  
Inhaling the smoke from another cigarette, Tifa's crimson eyes scanned the area intently. It was hard to even remotely imagine this beat down environment an actual bustling lifeform of activity, but it was. In Nibelheim's past life, people were actually outside their houses and children played carefree under the sun's glorious rays. This was a page in history the townspeople were eager to remember. It marked the freedom and innocence humanity could actually possess. That was, until Shinra decided to bombard the town and mark it their territory.  
  
  
  
Shinra was the hierarchy of civilization. They cared about nothing but seizing what they wanted. Threats, violence, torture, and possible murder schemes were just minor precautions they took to motivate themselves to keep their eyes on the prize. Human kind didn't matter. If they saw someone posing a casual threat to their mission, they would get rid of them without thinking twice about the repercussions.  
  
  
  
The young brunette sighed while tossing the cigarette aside and shoving her hands into the pockets of her jeans. Whoever said life was simple for today's youth should be tortured and maimed, or even worse, walk a day in her shoes.  
  
  
  
"I finally found you. I was looking all over the place for you."  
  
  
  
Tifa turned around to face the softened expression of her father. Anger boiled the thick liquid which flowed in her bloodstream, but she easily suppressed it from surfacing. Six months of avoiding contemplation of murder plots and turning the other cheek to confrontations had done wonders to her self-control. Without medication or psychological treatments, Tifa undoubtedly would become a viable candidate for patron saint of the easily angered.  
  
  
  
"I guess you weren't looking hard enough," she replied shortly while giving a small, nonchalant shrug.  
  
  
  
Mr. Lockheart looked down at his daughter sadly and softly stated, "No, I guess I wasn't, now was I?"  
  
  
  
"Is there a reason you're out here or was it to just play the part of the concerned father figure in front of the audience of people inside our house," Tifa inquired, growing very impatient with her father's bashful behavior.  
  
  
  
"How can you even think that," Mr. Lockheart proclaimed from his position at the front stoop of his home, "you of all people should know how much I love you!"  
  
  
  
"Please, give me a break! How could you love someone you don't even know?"  
  
  
  
There was a long beat of silence that made Nibelheim seem more hushed than possible. Many unprocessed emotions swept through the large gap between both father and daughter. These emotions seemed to speak more volumes than a screaming argument yet whisper softer than two people wordlessly communicating through the simple gaze of each other's eyes. Soon, with responsiveness in check, nothing seemed to be real anymore. The environment. The emotions. The unsettling tension. Everything seemed like an uncommon trip into this unforgiving Alternate Universe, where it was easy to get in yet impossible to escape.  
  
  
  
"What do you mean how can you love someone you don't know? Of course I know you! You're my own daughter," Mr. Lockheart explained after gaining composure of the insignificant shock he had shortly experienced before.  
  
  
  
"No. I'm made from a part of you, but that doesn't mean you understand my thought process or the emotions I feel every day of my life," the ruby eyed girl declared as her voice began to rise with every spoken word, "you never knew me! You never knew mom! How could you? You were never around! You were too busy impregnating the local bar hostess with the decent rack and ass defying shorts! You weren't there when mom suffered through the cancer! You weren't there when she began to throw up blood, signaling her close demise! You weren't even there when she died! How can you stand there and say you know your own family? You don't know shit!"  
  
  
  
Her chest began to heave as crystalline tears caused her vision to blur. The once calm feelings within slowly began to explode while the supple bottom lip of Tifa Lockheart began to quiver violently.  
The heavens seemed to cry for her predicament as small droplets of rain began to fall to Earth in considerate amounts.  
  
  
  
"I will never forgive you for what you did. Never."  
  
  
  
"Tifa, please," the desperate man pleaded while trying to hide the shaking of his vocal cords, "I know I was completely guilty for this crime but please try and understand my position. I need you in my life, sweetheart, you're all I have left."  
  
  
  
"You never had me so I can't possibly be all you have left. The moment you crawled into that waitress' pants was the moment you crawled out of existence. You committed the ultimate betrayal against your own family but I'm not going to sit here and persecute you for it. Your guilty conscience is punishment enough," Tifa explained as the rain hid the coursing tears which ran down her pale cheek, "I just don't know how you can live with yourself knowing you were responsible for taking away the family every child deserves. You had your chance and you blew it so go be someone else's father!"  
  
  
  
Mr. Lockheart watched helplessly as his daughter ran off into the rain shower. He didn't try and stop her for fear that one emerging word could leave in shambles the strong solitude he had worked so hard on constructing ever since the permanent departure of his wife. All the broken man could do was watch his little girl completely tear apart the last thin strand of hope which obscurely held what little relationship they had left.  
  
  
  
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- Tifa, sweetheart, I don't have much time left, but you have to promise you'll do something for me. -  
  
  
  
Tifa ran as fast as her lanky body could carry her as the rain continued to pour over the town in thick blankets. Her eyes contained a mixture of tears and rain while strands of raven tangled itself within the wind's rough exhale. The sky above seemed to be a perfect mirror image of the fleeing girl's emotions, but unlike the sky, the silver lining for Tifa's eventually better tomorrow was still left unseen.  
  
  
  
- You know I'd do anything for you, Mom. -  
  
  
  
Sprinting forward, the active brunette jumped over inanimate objects which stood in her way. Her breaths became heavy from the pains in her chest as her blurry vision made it practically impossible to gain sight of any oncoming dangers. The rain began to intensify as thunder made itself known to the world below.  
  
  
  
- I want you to take care of your father when I'm gone. I want to know you two will be able to care for each other so I have nothing to worry about. Can you do that for me, darling? Can you promise me you'll watch and care for your father? -  
  
  
  
As Tifa continued to hurry away from the other world her household seemed to entitle, her mind seemed to slip away as did her grasp on gravity. She lost her footing and collided with the moist ground. There was no grunt or scream of pain or obscenity, just hidden tears and wide eyes which refused to blink.   
  
  
  
- I....I promise. -  
  
  
  
She had broken a promise to her dying mother. But how could she not? How could someone feel and care for a person they couldn't even keep eye contact with? It was impossible and an obligation which lacked reason was unable to be accomplished. This theory may prove to be false one day in the near future, but for the moment, Tifa would label it under the popular unsolved mystery, "The World May Never Know."  
  
  
  
"Tifa?"  
  
  
  
The fallen girl remained on the ground, unable to rise or even perk up to the fuzzy voice above. It didn't even sound real. Just a far off statement which was caused by the head trauma received from the certain impact. It wouldn't be a surprise if the voice proved to be nothing more than a hallucination. For the past year, nothing seemed to hold a sense of reality so why would an unidentified murmur change that.  
  
  
  
"Tifa, is that you? Can you hear me?"  
  
  
  
"God, just leave me alone," Tifa barely whispered as her vision began to taint even further than before her immobility.  
  
  
  
"This is pointless. I gotta get you out of the rain before you catch an ammonia."  
  
  
  
The hypothesis of this ordeal being a hallucination proved false as the small bodied girl felt herself being lifted up from her uncomfortable position on the floor. She was in too weak of a condition to fight back and the carelessness of what this stranger's intentions actually were didn't help her situation much either.   
  
  
  
Tifa felt her body loose all feeling and gain a lightlessness which made her consider the possibility that she was indeed flying. It wasn't bad but then again what did she know? The helpless teenager was numb and unsure of what to expect. This was a natural high, that was all she knew at the moment. A high which people worked so hard at achieving but never officially grasped the actual concept.  
  
  
  
"I'm sorry, mom....but I wanna be free."  
  
  
  
"Hey, are you OK? Tifa.....Tifa you have to stay awake."  
  
  
  
The gloomy surroundings began to spin nauseatingly as almost spotted words were said to the sedated form of Tifa Lockheart before she slipped into the new world of the unheard and un-conscience.  
  
  
  
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"You let her run off! God, are you that dense? She's never going to come back!"  
  
  
  
Faye was nearly ready to pounce on her niece's father, so her hands gripped the arms of the large chair as a defense mechanism. As the redhead closed her eyes angrily, she shook her head in disappointment. He didn't try hard enough. That statement penetrated itself in her stubborn mind and caused more fury to rise in the confrontation.  
  
  
  
"No, she'll come back," Mr. Lockheart stated abruptly while trying to block out his sister-in-law's disappointing comments and making himself feel better in the process, "she has to come back."  
  
  
  
"What makes you so sure she will? Tifa hates you...."  
  
  
  
"Shut up! She doesn't hate me!"  
  
  
  
His brown eyes burned with a furious fire as his lips twisted into an angry scowl. In a way, those three words made more of an impact than he would allow to show. But he wouldn't loose hope. Mr. Lockheart was a determined man and when he wanted something, there was no blocking the coarse road to success. He would get his daughter's trust and affection back, even if it killed or seriously disabled him in the process.  
  
  
  
"I'm sorry," Faye simply offered as her rage subsided considerably, "it's just so hard watching Tifa make all these stupid mistakes and not being able to save her from them....what if those mistakes kill her? What if she never comes back home? Nothing will ever be the same without her."  
  
  
  
She was more right than he would ever admit to. Life without his daughter would be meaningless and the brown eyed fighter refused to imagine it so. Mr. Lockheart missed Tifa's warm smile and the dimple which dug itself into her right cheek when she smirked. He missed the way she knew exactly what to say when life at the Lockheart household wasn't exactly how it should be. He just missed....her and the way she used to be. But things changed and that shattered his heart more than a bullet forcing it's way into his body. Tifa was no longer the innocent child he knew her to be, but the broken woman he never imagined she would become.  
  
  
  
"She'll come back to us. I'm not going to loose someone else I love today. I refuse to," Mr. Lockheart firmly replied, crossing his arms across his chest, and focusing his shimmering eyes out the raindrop infested window nervously.  
  
  
  
"But how can you be so sure? How do you know after what you did, she'll ever want to see you again and not run off?"  
  
  
  
Life was a mystery and if the future was right in the reach of every human being, it would loose it's famous appellation. Mr. Lockheart didn't know the story which would soon unfold as the years went by but one thing he did know was his hope would keep the lost dreams alive. Nothing was as it seemed, yet that didn't mean you couldn't make your own detouring turns.  
  
  
  
With tear swarming eyes, the faithful man turned his attention back to the inqurious woman and said, "Because she's family."  
  
  
  
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She had been un-conscience for more than two hours. The young man, which sat on the chair facing the front of the twin sized bed, continued to stare, immersed at the sight. This girl was trouble and everyone in town, including he, knew so. Ever since her mother had become gravely ill, the lifestyle she lived changed drastically. He didn't know from personal experience, but rumors flew through Nibelheim that not only was this girl promiscuous but also a drug addict. Ever since these dangerous sparks against Tifa Lockheart began to fly, he made sure to keep a fair distance from the town's scarlet.  
  
  
  
Cloud Strife was the dictionary's definition for perfection. Not only did his physical attributes contribute to that minor fact, but the character he exposed to the public also had a major contribution.  
With honey blonde hair, spiked without a strand out of place, and aquatic eyes, Cloud made the top ten of every girl's 'Most likely to screw before I die' list. But no matter how many stereotypical comments of sheer perfection were made about the blonde, he still had numerous skeletons in his closet.   
  
  
  
Sighing, Cloud ran a hand through his now shaggy hair and proceeded to take a break from his sitting position. He never knew exactly who he was and the woman, which was supposedly to be his mother, was never around to help him encounter the hidden identity. Don't be mistaken, Mrs. Strife loved her son more than anything in the world, but she had this twisted misinterpretation he needed a male influence in his life, a father figure. This belief became her obsession and ever since the thought of possible fatherhood began to haunt her thoughts, Cloud's mother was determined to find a probable spouse who could fulfill both individual's needs.  
  
  
  
The storm was still raging through town and it seemed to only be getting more violent as the minutes passed. He placed his hands on the window frame to steady himself and stared out at the swaying trees and buckets of rain which continued falling gradually to the ground. It was strange, but Cloud could almost feel the world rotating beneath him. That was how fast the days were slivering by and tragically, the harder you try to grasp onto a memory, good or bad, the quicker the world continued to rotate. If you distinctly thought about it, the questioning result would stay the same. Was the world trying to obliterate any fond reoccurrence?  
  
  
  
He shook his head and turned back around to continue the watchful vigil of his guest. But once his eyes refocused themselves, they fell upon the helpless girl's own wide, ruby ones. The sight shook Cloud but he couldn't help but feel a certain relief of Tifa's conscienceness.  
  
  
  
"Hey, you're awake."  
  
  
  
It was a stupid commentary and he received confirmation of that stipulation when there was no answer to back up the statement. Tifa laid there, eyes unblinking, face pale, and lips chapped with practically no pigment. She looked so disheveled that Cloud couldn't help but feel a certain sympathy escaping him. He knew Tifa Lockheart and the word vulnerable didn't even exist in vocabulary terms which described her.   
He didn't know what it felt like to loose a mother and the blonde wasn't eager to find out how that would turn out.  
  
  
  
"Are you hungry? I could get you something from the kitchen," Cloud asked gently, reviving a conversation which was killed shortly before.  
  
  
  
"No."  
  
  
  
Both individuals were quiet for some time before Tifa pushed the comforter away from her body and proceeded to sit up. As she got up, Cloud actually noticed how scrawny this girl was. Her body was hardly curvy and the stereotype of "tookpick looking girls" was an understatement when referring to the girl ahead. She didn't look sick, but the brunette also didn't fit in with the voluptuously curvy women which men loved to fantasize about.   
  
  
  
His eyes moved about her and focused on her facial features. Tifa was beautiful, he wouldn't deny that. She had large almond eyes with slightly long, perfectly straight reddish-brown hair and short, choppy bangs to add effect. Her face was flawless, a bit pale, but unmarked as her lips sat in it's full position with a blanched pigment to them. A tired expression was expanded on her face as her body almost seemed to droop when standing on her feet.  
  
  
  
"You know, you can stay here for the night if you want. The storm isn't letting up anytime soon," the taller individual offered while running a hand through his messy hair.  
  
  
  
"I don't wanna burden you, plus, God forbid the town finds out you kept the "drugged out prostitute" in your bed without parental supervision," Tifa responded while crossing her thin arms across her chest, "why our favorite Ken doll will be, dare I say, the center of venomous ridicule and gossip for the first time in his whole prepubescent life. Wow, maybe the possibility of hell freezing over wouldn't exactly be that farfetched."  
  
  
  
"Fuck my reputation. Fuck this town. Fuck the citizens. I don't care. Right now all I see is a person who needs some help and that help I'm willing to give," Cloud explained, outstretching his arm to point over to the bed, "C'mon, just stay the night and I promise you'll be free by tomorrow morning."  
  
  
  
The ruby eyed girl stood there, scrutinizing the blue eyed boy, who had practically saved her life, and finally shrugging before falling back onto the soft bed without any further arguments. Placing her arms behind her neck, Tifa focused her gaze on Cloud Strife. He wasn't the least bit ill-looking. Actually, using the term ill-looking to describe this man should be a criminal offense. The blonde hair, which filled his head out, was raggedy looking at the moment, but still had a shimmer of healthiness to it. Along with the perfect hair was the perfect blue eyes. They shone with excitement and possessed such innocence, it made her jealous. While Cloud had the eyes of a new born child, so naive to this world, Tifa had the eyes  
of a broken woman who had never experienced any real pleasure in this lifetime.  
  
  
  
"Why'd you help me," Tifa asked abruptly while reaching in her pockets, pulling out a pack of cigarettes, leaning it forward, and allowing a single, slim tube to fall into the palm of her hand.   
  
  
  
"What do you mean why did I help you?"  
  
  
  
Placing the cigarette in her mouth, the brunette pulled out a lighter, which resided in her pocket, and lit the un-lively "lung destroyer." While taking the cigarette out of her mouth and blowing out the smoke, Tifa said incredulously, "It's not a very hard question. Actually, it's pretty straight forward. What gave you the inspiration to take me into your house when I was out in the rain? Was it pity, obligation, fear of a future conscience attack, what?"  
  
  
  
"Well," Cloud began as he stood up and proceeded to make his way to the bedside, "when I saw you out in the rain, I didn't know what to do. At first, I wanted to just walk by and forget you were there. Harsh? Maybe, but what would you have done? So, I saw you and my conscience just kicked in and before I knew it, I was standing above you, talking to you, then poof, here we are in my bedroom, talking for the first time."  
  
  
  
"Oh, and another thing," he proclaimed before plucking the cigarette from his guest's mouth, "if you're gonna be spending the night in this house, you're not gonna be smoking. Got it?"  
  
  
  
Taking a drag from the leftovers, Cloud blew out the smoke, moved to his window swiftly, and flicked the cigarette out into the howling storm, "Plus, you shouldn't be smoking. It's not good for you."  
  
  
  
"Whatever. The last time I checked, you weren't my father," the presumptuous teen pointed out while stooping down into the soft pillows.  
  
  
  
"No, you're right. But the last time I checked I was putting a roof over your head and giving you a bed to sleep in. So, if we're done our oh-so-facinating game of reality check, why don't you loose the attitude, shut the mouth, and get some sleep before I do something I'll regret, like make you sleep on the floor," Cloud explained, leaning against the widow sill, and quirking an eyebrow up in threatening anticipation.  
  
  
  
"Fine," she murmured before turning her back on Cloud and curling herself up in a fetal position. It left, yet another degree of silence, hanging in the air. The only good thing about that small factor was it gave enough time for both teens to contemplate their situations.  
  
  
  
"Why were you out in the rain? I mean, you do have a house, why weren't you in it," the interrogator asked, his eye brow still quirked up, but only this time in a questioning expression.  
  
  
  
"It's a long story."  
  
  
  
"Well, we've got time. I mean, it's not like we're going anywhere anytime soon."  
  
  
  
Tifa laid there, unsure of what to say. What was she supposed to say? 'I ran off because I hate my father. The man who impregnated some waitress behind my dying mother's back and wasn't even there to say I love you before she died.' Yes, because it was so obvious that was the correct choice of topic to speak of since tension wasn't already hanging in the air.  
  
  
  
"I'm just mad at my dad. We're not exactly seeing eye to eye right now," she explained, wrapping her arms around her small body while closing her eyes to block out any bitter memories.  
  
  
  
"Tifa...I'm really sorry about your mother. I know that doesn't even come close to repairing the damage, but it's all I can offer right now. I'm really sorry," Cloud replied softly, folding his hands and keeping his eyes focused on the still form of Tifa Lockheart.  
  
  
  
"I'm sorry...those words don't even phase me anymore," she whispered audibly while not even bothering to turn around and face her savior, "I heard those two words more than I heard my own name and that's just fucking sad. Everywhere I turn, everywhere I go, when I think my mother's death just passed me by, I hear 'I'm sorry.' You know, half the town of Nibelheim showed up to my mother's funeral and what's worse, is half of the town didn't even know my mother. They didn't know the bullshit she had to deal with. She didn't know what a great person she was. They didn't know what my mother endured when she got sick. Nobody knew anything, yet they cry like she was their best friend."  
  
  
  
More silence allowed time to stand still. He didn't know what more to say. What was there to say to a girl who lost her mother? Cloud continue to stare at his guest, unable to remove his eyes from her back. As he looked on, his blue eyes caught a shaking in her back, a shaking which looked like she was......crying.   
  
  
  
"Tifa?"  
  
  
  
His heart sunk as her silence placed a confirmation on his suspicions. Her back shook harder and before he knew he was doing, Cloud got up and moved forward, unable to stop himself. Placing his hands on Tifa's back, he laid down next to her, and embraced her without even considering hesitation. It gave him relief when she didn't even struggle against him in return. Tifa only shook harder, as small sobs became clearly heard, and her hands found themselves on his own.  
  
  
  
"Shh...it's OK. Everything'll be OK," Cloud whispered in her ear as he laid his chin on the crook of her neck, held her tighter, and allowed the defenseless girl cry all her emotions out in the open.  
  
  
  
Tifa continued to cry as Cloud held onto her for dear life, resting his cheek on her shoulder as a tear rolled down his moonlit face and onto Tifa's creamy skin discreetly. 


	3. Duplicity

- ! Silver Linings' Author Shout Out ! - I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed! I'm so happy my story's on people's liking and since you all took time out of your busy schedules to review, I will definitely continue. But one thing, you guys can't get lazy on me! You have to keep reviewing and telling me what you think!   
  
This chapter will basically introduce the minor characters, their relationship with Cloud and Tifa, and the two individual's past. It won't have a lot Cloti here, but if you want to understand the story, you're going to have to read it.  
  
  
  
- Silver Linings -  
  
  
  
Cos all of the stars; are fading away  
Just try not to worry; you'll see them some day  
- Stop Crying Your Heart Out - Oasis  
  
  
  
****************************  
  
  
  
"Sweetheart, you promised."  
  
  
  
The voice was soft, loving, and contained a certain motherly essence that couldn't be hidden if tried. It encouraged Tifa to turn around and face a pair of energetic green eyes. Eyes which the brunette had grown up to and learned to appreciate. She always did love those eyes.  
  
  
  
"Mom?"  
  
  
  
"You promised. You promised you would take care of your father for me. You promised things would be OK, but look at you."  
  
  
  
Her eyes began to water as her mother's affectionate gaze transformed into something ugly and manipulative. In all of Tifa's years of living, she never experienced this look nor did she think it was actually possible for it to be produced by this woman.   
  
  
  
"Look at you," Mrs. Lockheart shrieked in such a loud voice, it made her daughter jump in surprise, "you can't even take care of yourself might as well your father! You're a disgrace! You smoke, you're a drug addict, you're disrespectful, you're a whore! I can't believe you're my daughter!"  
  
  
  
"Mom, please, listen to me!"  
  
  
  
"Stay away from me! Don't even think of me! I'm glad that I'm dead and away from such a person with no morals and no class! I'm so ashamed of you! You should have died instead of me and when you do die, you are going straight to hell!"  
  
  
  
Tifa began to back away with a horrified expression on her face. This wasn't her mother, it couldn't be. Her mother loved her. She would never say such horrible things to her own daughter, but guilt couldn't help but consume the young girl's heart.  
  
  
  
Turning around, Tifa began to run away from the apparition of Mrs. Lockheart. Her feet and legs burned from such impact with the floor. As she ran into the darkness, a loud scream was heard in the distance, almost fading like the vague surroundings, "You're going straight to hell for what you did to me! Straight to hell!"  
  
  
  
****************************  
  
  
  
She awoke with a pounding heart and cold sweat covering her gaunt body. The dream had been so real. It actually felt like she, herself, was standing before her deceased mother and being judged at that very moment. It was a ridiculous afterthought, but Tifa couldn't help but wonder if her mother was actually standing in her afterlife, angry at her daughter for all the sins she was committing and had committed in her past.  
  
  
  
Tifa ran her hands over her face and through her dark hair slowly, making sure to cleanse herself of all the sweat that was produced during the previous night. But as she moved her hands over her face, the ruby eyed girl noticed another living, breathing lifeform besides her.   
  
  
  
Her eyes moved from its locked location on the ceiling and focused on the blonde boy besides her. He had stayed with her all night, defying his reputation and the fear of someone actually finding him with her. He really didn't care what people thought about him or if they spoke bitter words behind his back. It made Tifa wonder if Cloud Strife really was as true to himself, and not society's creation of succession, as he so profoundly said he was.  
  
  
  
Stealing one last glance, she moved slowly away from her protector, making sure not to produce even the slightest movement which could wake him. He may have proved his trustful worthiness but that didn't mean Tifa had the invitation of destroying the reputation Cloud had worked so hard on achieving. After all, they were just acquaintances; Cloud the modest hero and Tifa the helpless victim. Not once, in that analogy of their relationship, was there even the mere mention of a budding friendship.  
  
  
  
Sighing, Tifa grabbed a cigarette from her pocket quickly before placing it in her mouth and lighting it to blazing life. She knew he said no cigarettes as long as Tifa was a guest in this household but she couldn't hold the urge back any longer. Plus, the brunette wasn't exactly a guest anymore. In all actuality, she was leaving right at this very moment, so all obligations to being a temporary inhabitant of the Strife house was obliterated just as quickly as her welcome.  
  
  
  
Tifa smiled while making her way across the room and exhaling the small amount of smoke, which currently resided in her mouth. After exhaling, she left the slim tube in her mouth while opening the compact window in one painless lift. Taking the cigarette out of her mouth once again, she turned around and looked down upon the sleeping form of Cloud Strife. He was the first person, this superficial town had to offer, who would help someone in need, even if they weren't ranked Miss Popularity.  
  
  
  
It was although she didn't have any instruction on her body as the chocolate haired individual moved towards the bedside cautiously. This was sheer torture, loosing all control on your body, but Tifa couldn't remember feeling more sure or comfortable than at this very moment. She kept the watchful gaze on her face before finally, after countless minutes swooping by, reaching her destination.  
  
  
  
"Thank you," Tifa whispered softly into the sleeping form's ear before leaning forward and placing a gentle kiss on his cheek decelerately.  
  
  
  
"Tifa," Cloud called out in a hoarse voice, allowing his eyes to flutter open almost immediately to the close contact.  
  
  
  
Sitting up, he glanced to both sides and unfortunately, didn't find who he was looking for. Cloud could have sworn he felt Tifa hovering above him and placing her lips on his cheek just seconds ago. But all he saw, glancing around his bare room at the moment, was nothingness, as his mysterious guest was nowhere to be seen.  
  
  
  
****************************  
  
  
  
The sun hung high in the sky as a soft, yet undeniably cool, gust of wind blew through the obsolete and practically abandoned town. Last night's storm had done quite a number on Nibelheim, mailboxes torn from it's once erect position and chipping shutters lying discreetly on the moistened ground. If people didn't know better, they would possibly assume that the fusillade was a mild hurricane. But aside from the destruction caused by the previous night's events, there was a brighter side to this ordeal. While the residue of humid and viscid weather the summer had bestowed upon the world, began to cause nothing but trouble, the storm had prevented any further heat waves and demoted the weather considerably low.  
  
  
  
Tifa maneuvered through the ruckus with her arms hanging limply at her sides. Looking upon the wreckage was so surreal. It was almost as though the wandering teenager was having a premonition into her would-be future. Unfortunately, it would have been her destiny if Cloud hadn't appeared and actually concerned himself in her safety. The mere visual was enough to make the brunette involuntarily shudder and excommunicate any ill thoughts away from her mind's eye.  
  
  
  
"You little bitch! Next time you try and disobey me, I'll kill you! You hear? I'll kill you," a shout erupted from a nearby household before a young girl, no older than fourteen, came running out with her head bowed down low.  
  
  
  
Concerned ruby eyes caught glimpse of the violence unfolding while taking the initiative to chase after the fleeing girl. This girl could run quickly when she pleased, Tifa noticed, but then again it could just be the excessive amounts of nicotine and smoke her lungs and bloodstream possessed, which made her slow down. The sharp wind slapped her across the face while leaving a stinging sensation but Tifa ignored the sensation and continued to sprint behind her target.  
  
  
  
She knew it had happened again. The youngster had been a victim, once more, to physical and emotional abuse dealt on by her menacing father. Just the thought of sheer malice inflicted on the small framed child was enough motivation for Tifa to pick up pace.  
  
  
  
Distancing herself considerably from the escapee, Tifa spotted her slow down and eventually stop. It was the perfect opportunity to talk without any further marathon running or fear of yet another get away.   
The timing or positioning couldn't be more perfect as the brunette finally moved in to take advantage of the practically once only chance.  
  
  
  
"Yuffie, are you OK? I saw you running out of........What are you doing?"  
  
  
  
Yuffie was completely still, delirious to the sound, as her trifling back remained turned on Tifa.  
Her head was still bowed down low while short, raven strands fell mangled to the sides, covering the mysterious girl's face even more so. The dark haired girl's back shook slightly, her arms craned in towards her stomach.  
  
  
  
"I asked you what you were doing," Tifa demanded, quickly grabbing onto Yuffie's shoulders, and jerking her around suddenly to face two curiously exploring eyes.  
  
  
  
Yuffie's violet eyes contained nothing but sorrow, confusion, and unshed tears. Her eyes seemed to be the only place unstained from the horrendous amount of blood which was escaping the sides of her mouth, under her nose, and the side of her delicate head. The child's body shook as her one hand gripped a slim syringe which was plunged into her other free inner-arm.  
  
  
  
"God! How many times have I told you to stop doing this shit," Tifa screamed angrily, removing the submerged needle, efficiently yet carefully, from the girl's arm, throwing it to the ground, and stepping on it's remainders.  
  
  
  
Tifa grabbed the intoxicated persona's shoulders and looked her straight in the eye furiously, "Yuffie, this shit is not funny! It's not funny! Your father isn't worth destroying yourself over, do you hear me? If I catch any of that crap in you again, I will personally sever you alive to get it out!"  
  
  
  
Yuffie merely stood there, swaying under Tifa's grasp, and looking far off with a slight smile on her damaged face. It was heartbreaking to see the future of our generation just standing there, high from heroin insertion. That particular sight caused tears to brew in Tifa's eyes as she pulled the lost girl into her arms and held her close, shielding her from the harsh realities this world had to offer.  
  
  
  
****************************  
  
  
  
Cloud looked at himself in the mirror, fixing his blonde hair, which was drenched from the shower he had just taken, while trying to re-create his trademark spikes. Running gel-filled hands through his golden mane, Cloud's mind rewound to the previous night. He had never knew Tifa had a vulnerable side. A side which needed comfort and warmth. A side which needed human contact. Just to see tears running down her cheeks was enough to question the human race and the reality it claimed to live in.  
  
  
  
Sighing, he lowered his hands from his head and continued to look at himself in the reflection-casting object. In all honesty, last night didn't even seem real at all, but the memory of her body under his fingertips seemed to shock him back to realizing the truth. Her rough breathing and choked sobs were imprinted in his retrospection and that was something he couldn't or wouldn't change. The exquisite remembrance would always remain and the realization which shocked him more than this was the fact that he didn't even remotely mind.  
  
  
  
"Cloud, sweetheart, can I come in?"  
  
  
  
Mrs. Strife's soft voice interrupted her son's reverie. Shaking his head quickly to allow any unnecessary thoughts to escape his mind for the moment, he responded to his mother's simple question, "Yeah, sure, come on in."  
  
  
  
She entered the small room immediately, a warm smile materializing on her face once she spotted her son fixing himself up at the mirror. This woman was in her mid-thirties, but an oncoming passerby would disagree with that fact. Mrs. Strife had the wrinkle-free skin of a teenager with dancing sapphire eyes, which matched Cloud's equivalently, and didn't look older a day older than a female in her twenties. Her honeysuckle hair was pulled back into a high bun as her slim body was covered by an old-fashioned dress that seemed to hug and accentuate her curves. Men seemed to love to gawk as women spoke behind her back in envious monotones.  
  
  
  
"Oh Cloud, you're growing up so fast. When did you get so tall," Mrs. Strife asked while taking a seat on her son's twin sized bed.  
  
  
  
Cloud continued to modify his hair yet looked into the mirror at his mother's perched form with a playful smile, which seemed to match Mrs. Strife's, on his face, "I was as tall as I am the last time you saw me. But then again, I guess the memory's the first thing that goes when you get old."  
  
  
  
She laughed and reached out to smack her son playfully on the butt before crossing her arms stubbornly, "I am not getting old, you're eyes are just getting bad. I think glasses are in order."  
  
  
  
"Alright, mom, whatever you say. Denial seems to be another symptom of old age."  
  
  
  
"Such a smartass, just like your father......."  
  
  
  
Both mother and son stopped what they were doing and seemed to focus intensely on that statement. While Mrs. Strife's eyes grew slightly wide before bowing her head down in consideration, Cloud's hands lowered slowly from his head, keeping his vision on the mirror without looking back at his mother. Speaking of Cloud's father was a sour topic and the two liked to avoid it as much as possible. But even though Mr. Strife's memory was disacknowledged to the public ear, it didn't mean his wife and offspring didn't think of him constantly on their own time.  
  
  
  
"I think you should go now," Cloud explained softly, eyes lowering from the mirror to his stand where all his products, books, and merchandise was placed.  
  
  
  
"Cloud, I'm sorry, I know you don't like to speak of your father but....."  
  
  
  
"Mom, please," he exclaimed, not removing his gaze from the objects and not daring to look back at his mother, for it still pained him to do so whenever his father was mentioned.  
  
  
  
It was only a week after his funeral that Mrs. Strife began dating again, looking for the next man to share the remainder of her life with. She never grieved like the proper widow and Cloud always resented her for it. That was why he didn't want to speak of his father. That was why he could never look her straight in the eye without flames becoming evident. That was why everytime Cloud's mother brought home beau after beau, he would always distance himself even more from her and run off. He didn't hate her, but he couldn't love her either.  
  
  
  
"Cloud, someday, you have to talk about your father! If you don't, all the emotions you felt ever since his death will come crumbling down on you and I'm afraid to even imagine what result will produce," Mrs. Strife proclaimed reasonably, lifting herself from Cloud's bed, and placing her hand on his shoulder reassuringly.  
  
  
  
He just shook it off, unable to look back, and placed both of his own hands on the stand which held his mirror in constant place. Closing his eyes, Cloud could almost imagine the hurt expression on his mother's face. But he couldn't help but be harsh, it was what kept him strong and able to face the demons of his father's death.  
  
  
  
"Just go. I don't need your help."  
  
  
  
"Cloud...."  
  
  
  
"Go," Cloud shouted, beginning to shake from the nervousness and small quantity of tears which was devising.  
  
  
  
Standing completely still, he heard the footsteps on the floor, a slight pause, and finally, the exit of his co-creator. Cloud's aquatic eyes shifted from down low to the door which had just been used for a dramatic exit. Running his hands through his hair, a single tear drop escaped the confines of his eyes before he swiftly removed it with the back of his hand and continued his preparation.   
  
  
  
****************************  
  
  
  
"How many times have I told you not to sell her this shit," Tifa bellowed before throwing the shattered pieces of the syringe, containing the illegal substance, at her adversary, "she's just a kid! Did you loose your common sense as you got older or were you just born without it? Minors and illegal drugs do not mix!"  
  
  
  
A calm and collected redhead sat on the couch of his apartment with a shot of whiskey in his hand and shoeless feet resting comfortably on the coffee table ahead. His aquamarine eyes stared up at the fuming visitor with obvious interest as a smirk appeared on his lips.   
  
  
  
"Tifa, calm down. Listen, I'm a dealer, not a preacher. The kid came to me asking me for some junk and I gave it to her. That's my job, I'm not her father or her priest. If she's got the cash, then I'm going to give her what she wants, that's it, no questions asked," he explained, placing the practically finished drink on the coffee table, leaning back, and placing a cigarette in his mouth, "and you, my little ex-addict, have no right to come into my house, parading around with campaigns of how drugs and minors don't mix."  
  
  
  
"My history has no involvement here, OK? Yuffie has a chance to be someone! How can you sit here and let that future go down the drain? You have no right to play God with people's lives, Reno!"  
  
  
  
"And you have no right to play the role of the hero either," Reno pointed out, removing the cigarette from his mouth, and blowing out the smoke after a few seconds, "you might not like it, but people have the will to do whatever they please and if Yuffie wants to continue buying the merchandise, then I'm going to keep giving it to her. Point blank and there's nothing you can say or do which will make me do otherwise."  
  
  
  
"You're such a prick, Reno, you always have been but let me tell you one thing, if I find any more of your shit in Yuffie's body, I'll find you and I'll kill you. Point blank," Tifa replied seriously before turning her back and heading towards the door.  
  
  
  
Tifa reached for the doorknob but felt two warm hands on her shoulder, spinning her around, and slamming her against the closed door. The wind was knocked out of her as Reno's face began to become partially fuzzy. Smelling the mix of heavy liquor and nicotine, she felt her opponent's face come dangerously close to hers.  
  
  
  
"You're going to kill me? Is that what I just heard you say," Reno asked, keeping the lopsided grin on his smug face, "what happened to you, Teef? When did you become the tight ass your father is? Oh, and speaking of you're gangbanging father, how is he and your new knocked up mother doing? Knowing the kind of rack that girl has on her, your dead mother must be but a distant memory by now."  
  
  
  
Tifa's fury, induced from the unexpected comment, gave her perspective and uncanny energy. She tore Reno's grip away from her wrist and quickly hit him across the face with her forearm. It wasn't long before she was repined though. Reno grabbed Tifa's wrist, once it collided with the side on his face, and twirled around so the side of her face would meet with the door.  
  
  
  
"No, no, sweetie. That was a bad move," the flaming redhead whispered into her ear as her cheek became so close to the door, it wouldn't take long before her face became merged with it.  
  
  
  
She was quiet, her heaving breaths of indignation being the only noise heard on her behalf. There wasn't a thought going through Tifa's head which didn't have herself killing Reno in many different and creative ways. The thoughts were strong but once she felt his hot lips on her neck, they began to fade and become a huge mass of confusion. It was a strange feeling, almost as though the brunette had just taken a sedative which caused thought deficiency.  
  
  
  
Reno continued to purge the anger by running his tongue down her neck and making his way onto her shoulder. She hated him, but she couldn't resist the kind of pleasure he gave her whenever they collided. This situation was bad enough but what made it even worse was the anger only made her want him more.  
  
  
  
He twirled her around to face him and placed his lips on hers roughly. Tifa moved her hands over his unkempt hair as she felt Reno's hands peruse her body seductively. Her eyes closed as she implored the beautiful thought of being held.  
  
  
  
- Tifa cried softly while feeling warm and gentle arms encircling her. Arms which wanted nothing more than to protect and hold her. She felt his tender body against hers and slowly placed her once unmoving hands over his own. -  
  
  
  
Ruby eyes opened slowly, still feeling Reno's lips invading her being. She had never felt so safe than she had the previous night. With Cloud by her side, Tifa felt her vulnerable side could be revealed without fear of any ridicule. She kept her hands on her lover's back and suddenly realized she didn't feel safe with this man, just aroused. It wasn't enough, but the urge of wanting to be held and loved overcame reason. Before Tifa knew it, she was allowing the green eyed man to anxiously pull her to the floor.  
  
  
  
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A young woman walked through Nibelheim, a serene look on her always carefree face as a flower basket was attached securely to her arm. Her emerald eyes shone with such a glorious light as the light brown hair, which accented her ivory skin tone, was tied into a high ponytail with a soft pink ribbon allowing it to be set in place. Her pink sundress, which intoned her voluptuous body, flowed in the wind almost giving her an angelic appearance.  
  
  
  
One look at this girl and you could tell she had it made. Her mother, Iflana, was a loving mother who couldn't possibly be more involved in her daughter's life if she tried and her father, Professor Gast, was a well known doctor, who saved many lives and yet still had time for his family. She was proud of her upbringing and other citizens also took great pride in her existence. Perfection was an understatement of a synonym to describe this teenager.  
  
  
  
"Aeris, hello dear," a woman, who stood at the porch of her house asked while waving a friendly hello at her.  
  
  
  
Aeris smiled and waved back before continuing her journey ahead. She had been a loved citizen of this town ever since she had first learned to speak and the pressure of it all was beginning to become unnerving. She had never done anything wrong which resulted in the term of felony and that was made everyone praise her. Not for her being alive in this vast world, but for the fact that she was a pretty and favorable girl with no criminal record. People believed this girl, with the pink dress and flower obsession, would be a benefit to improving this run-down town.  
  
  
  
"Aeris," a soft yet informative whisper came from the infamous Nibelheim well. The sound caused her to stop in her tracks, a questioning expression on her sweet face.  
  
  
  
"Who's there," she asked, looking around but unluckily, not finding the owner of the provocative voice. Backing away from the well with ease, Aeris felt a hand pulling her closer to the almost distant object.  
Squealing with sudden surprise, her green eyes met a pair of onyx ones.  
  
  
  
"Zack!"  
  
  
  
Zack held the smaller girl in his arms, smiling down at her shocked expression before leaning forward and brushing his lips against hers briefly. This man had ebony spiked hair and a cheerful glint in his eyes as he stood at a height slightly above average with a lean and slender build. Holding Aeris in his arms after feeling her lips on his, Zack inhaled her flowery scent while closing his eyes to cherish the moment.  
  
  
  
"Baby, you know I can't be seen with you. What would people say," the flower girl asked, wrapping her own arms around her love's neck and despising the thought of letting go. She hated her reputation and her supposed position in society, wanting nothing more then to oppose it, but Aeris was too scared and weak willed to take the stand against the town.  
  
  
  
"I don't care. All I wanna do is hold you and make the world disappear," the dark haired man whispered, placing his lips on her neck faintly while not caring if anyone did indeed catch him in action with the woman he loved.  
  
  
  
"I have to go," she said, not having the will power to allow her arms to untangle themselves, "you know if anyone catches us, it'll be the end of everything. They'll send you away and I don't know what I'd do if that ever happened."  
  
  
  
"That'll never happen, they'll have to kill me first......."  
  
  
  
Aeris immediately placed her fingertips over Zack's moving mouth, signaling him to stop. Remaining in the celestial glory of this silence, the green eyed girl smiled softly at the man in front of her. Nothing could replace the emotions ravaging her at the moment and she shuddered at the thought of these feelings ever making a permanent exit.  
  
  
  
"Don't say that. Nothing's going to ever happen to you, I'll never allow it. That's why you have to let me go, you know why that is," Aeris explained, removing her fingertip from his lips and moving it down Zack's cheek with ease.  
  
  
  
"Promise me you'll never kiss him the way you kiss me," Zack said, trying to reassure himself of the resentment he felt towards the other man in this girl's life.  
  
  
  
Her structured eyebrows furrowed while she pulled the taller man towards her for a hug. The guilt Aeris felt in her heart practically squeezed the life out of it. She loved this man for countless reasons and everytime she was with her significant other, that specific guilt was always there, unable to avoid like severely injured person on the street. She wanted to run away from all the responsibility involuntarily bestowed upon her, but everytime she tried, a local, smiling face would always stop her.  
  
  
  
"I could never kiss 'anyone' the way I kiss you," Aeris murmered into his ear, "I have to go, but I promise I'll see you tonight, here by the well."  
  
  
  
"I love you, baby," Zack said, pulling loathingly away from his devotion while his hand ran down her arm and held onto her hand.  
  
  
  
"I love you, too," she mouthed back with a smile playing her rose shaped lips, holding onto his hand, and just standing there with a sound appreciation being evident as she looked up at Zack.  
  
  
  
As seconds flowed by the two, their hands slowly broke apart as Zack watched the woman who held his heart so possessively, cast a single glance and playful wink at him before walking away from the Nibelheim well. He knew where she had to go now and it killed him inside to even consider the possibilities of what they may be doing behind closed doors. Watching Aeris' curvaceous shape become but a distant memory, the dark eyed man leaned against the ladder which led to the top of the well, gaze up towards the intensely blue sky, with hardly any clouds staining it's magnificent composure, and just think of the girl who every day would just sweep in and out of his life.  
  
  
  
  
  
Aeris walked away from the tryst with her head held insecurely high and felt her heart pound with a certain earnest, irregular beat which was all too familiar to her. If it was possible, she'd permanently stop those unnatural beats and remain with Zack, but that wasn't an option in this multiple choice test which was her life. Nothing was as it should be and the day it began to express some kind of familiarity would most likely and ironically be the day of she laid on her deathbed with lost dreams never expressed for the fear of deceit.  
  
  
  
Sighing, the small girl marched determinedly towards the local household, which was now located right in front of her sight. It was always hard knocking on this door and seeing his mother with her cheerful smile and the sheer delight she experienced whenever she'd see the flower girl standing at the door. And what was even worse was seeing the blue eyes which would, in her opinion, never compare to the dark ones which would always be waiting for her by their 'spot.' It was hard looking in those eyes, kissing those lips, and genuinely saying the three words, I Love You. She had never once spoken those words to this man and honestly meant them from the depths of her heart.  
  
  
  
"C'mon, you always go through this and it's never going to get easier! Just knock on the damn door and at least give him the courtesy of looking happy to see him."  
  
  
  
Raising her hand, Aeris began to sway her wrist back and forth, causing a soft, yet noticeable knocking sound on the household's front door. She closed her eyes and prepared for yet another day of lies and duplicity. Now, located in the girl's heart, was not only guilt but pity for the man on the other side of this very piece of wood, which separated the interior of the house from the outside world. If it were a choice, Aeris would be knocking on this door to save him from future wrath and embarrassment by telling him the truth.  
  
  
  
  
"Hey you. What's going through that head of yours? Looks important because your nose is starting to wrinkle up."  
  
  
  
She snapped out of her thoughts and looked up at her boyfriend with a processed smiled on her angelic face. He looked good, Aeris wouldn't deny him of the compliment, but that thought only made the guilt magnify profusely. Just looking at his face and the radiant blue eyes which possessed such beauty, she felt herself shrink as the dignity, which every person received along with the many body parts during conception, began to deteriorate into nothing.  
  
  
  
"Hey yourself," Aeris declared back, cocking her head to the side with watching eyes staring up at the taller blonde ahead.  
  
  
  
"Come on in," he invited, opening the door for his girlfriend and stepping to the side to allow her entrance, "It was getting late. I had this epiphany that you were going to stand me up."  
  
  
  
As she entered the habitation carefully, the brunette felt the blue eyed man's arms entwine around her waist as he bent down to give her a peck on the cheek as a friendly hello. His lips burned. Not in that passionate way every girl craved to experience, but burned with an acid-like sting which would be impossible to ever relieve.  
  
  
  
"You know I'd never do that to you, Cloud," Aeris whispered as she felt the arms which held her so protectively loosen their grip slightly, but not completely letting go.  
  
  
  
Cloud lowered his chin on Aeris' shoulder and the two remained there for a moment. Blue eyes shone with comfort yet a certain conflict which was undeniable to point out, even from a distant, as Green eyes remained indifferencially saddened and guilt ridden. Both embellished their emotion's falsity to the breaking point until the love they claimed they shared transformed from something, which was meant to be pure, into something dirty and ugly. Both wanted to run, but both were also terrified of whatever was waiting for them on the other side. That fear was what kept them glued together in a relationship with compassion yet no empathy.  
  
  
  
****************************  
  
  
  
The ruby eyed teenager placed her shirt over her head swiftly and began to move discreetly by her passed out lover. As she moved one foot over his still body, Tifa wondered what she ever saw in this man, which drew her to him. She was but a naive child who didn't know security since her mother grew ill. Could it have been the fact that all she wanted was someone to hold her while she cried and care for her when she couldn't fend for herself. No, it was the complete opposite. This man was the epitome of danger and had done nothing but destroy the life and future Tifa deserved to have. Reno wrecked her yet gave her a sound relief from the pain inflicted by current events. That mixture was what attracted her to him.   
  
  
  
Shaking her head, Tifa continued to make her way towards the door, casting one last glance at the slumbering man, and exiting the apartment she had spent most of her youth in. 


	4. Nothing Is As It Should Be

- Silver Linings -  
  
  
****************************  
  
  
"Faye! Faye wake up!"  
  
  
The slumbering redhead moaned softly, grabbing the pillow which was located behind her head, and placing it over her face, hoping to give her annoying brother-in-law an obvious hint to leave her alone.  
She should've known better though, because just as quickly as Faye covered herself with the feather stuffed object, it was just as suddenly taken away.   
  
  
"Faye, I'm serious! This isn't a game, you have to wake up," the brown eyed man exclaimed anxiously, keeping those watchful eyes on his sister by marriage intently.  
  
  
"No, I'm serious," Faye proclaimed while snapping her hand up to grab Tifa's father by the collar roughly and pulling him deathly close to her as her eyes opened into small slits which revealed nothing but anger, "After cleaning up from the previous night's affair, I've gotten a total of two hours of sleep plus the fact you have just made the grave mistake of waking me up from the best dream a middle-aged woman could possibly have! So if we're finished here, which I think we are, if you know what's good for you, then you can go about your business and come back in another eight hours when the afternoon had just got done rolling around."  
  
  
Mr. Lockheart felt her slender hands loosen from his collar, slapping him lightly and playfully on the face before turning her back on him to proceed her anxious return to the magical world of beautiful dreams.  
  
  
He sat there for a while, backing up slightly, before his next comment was brought to the surface, "Tifa didn't come home last night."  
  
  
"I'm up," Faye said, sitting up immediately without another word of bitter complaint. Her hands folded on her lap, eyes blinking rapidly to remove the residue of sleep which remained; meaning she was prepared to get down to business, "Now, are you sure she really didn't come home last night?"  
  
  
"I'm positive," he began, a stern expression on his rugged features, eyes moving past Faye and focusing on the window which revealed, in depth, the outside world, "I went to her room just now. Her bed was made and her clothes from the previous night were nowhere to be found."  
  
  
The blue eyed woman sat there in strong contemplation, an equally ascetic expression locked on her wrinkle-free face. It had to be a misunderstanding. There was just no way that her niece had never came home, especially after last night's storm. Unless, she had been severely injured and laying lifeless on the ground begging for help right as we speak. No, Faye chastised her conscience, unable to bring herself to imagine Tifa's fragile body lying broken on the cold gravel.  
  
  
"You don't think she got caught up in the storm, do you," Mr. Lockheart asked, voicing the woman's fears aloud while sliding a shivering hand through his messy, yet amazingly thick hair, then running it down his face and over his chapped lips.  
  
  
"No," Faye yelled, not only reassuring the discouraged man but herself as well, "let's not think negatively, OK? That's not going to help any."  
  
  
"You're right. But what if something did happen to her! I'll never get a chance to tell my daughter how sorry I am or how much I really love her," the ponderous father whispered, keeping his hands over his mouth as he continued to think the worst of the situation. The urge of making amends with his rebellious daughter had never been so powerful as it was right now.  
  
  
"You don't have to worry about that," Faye pointed out, refocusing her eyes away from her sister's husband to the front door, where Tifa stood, her hands shoved into her jeans pockets nonchalantly.  
  
  
Mr. Lockheart looked behind him in doubt, but then, once spotting Tifa, jumping to his feet rapidly like he had just taken a double dosage of speed. The contemplative expression on his face began to mold itself into one of joy entwined with a twitch of clearly visible anger as he folded his arms across his chest sternly. He was ecstatic to see his daughter, but the fear of losing her, which he experienced shortly before, was so much stronger than the relief.  
  
  
"Where were you?"  
  
  
"Out," Tifa curtly said, removing her hands from their burrowed position in her jeans before walking across the living room floor and passing her father without an evident care. The memories from last night and this morning's encounters burned a gaping hole through her pounding head, making everything seem more blurry than they already were.  
  
  
"No! No, young lady, that's not good enough," Mr. Lockheart shouted loudly, causing Tifa to stop abruptly, "you're 17 years old! 17! Which clearly means you still have one more year before you stop taking orders from me! So since your still considered a minor and under my authority, you're going to tell me where you were! And in specifics this time!"  
  
  
Faye remained seated on the couch, her eyes moving back and forth from father to daughter. There was so much tension in this very room that it made the redhead feel very uncomfortable. She wanted Tifa to understand her father's worries and concerns, but her niece had viewpoints and was just like her mother: stubborn to a fault. Until that tough and obstinate exterior was broken completely through, there was, unfortunately, no helping the confused teenager.  
  
  
Tifa stood near the staircase, her eyes looking everywhere but at her father. The dream kept coming back to her, the dream manifested through her guilt, making her feel even more at fault then she already was. It was as though nothing seemed real anymore. Like everything around her had an ultimatum which would eventually lead her back to the bed she usually slept in. How the brunette wished it was so. The mistakes she made, the mother she lost so unfairly, the life she had chosen to live, would all be just a mere distant fantasy where after dreamt, would lead Tifa back to the life she actually belonged to.  
  
  
"I'm sorry, but I can't discuss it right now. Sometime soon, we'll talk," Tifa murmured audibly, desperately fighting the urge to run right back out the door and away from the inquisitive adults, who, at the moment, waiting patiently for her answer.  
  
  
"Fine. Just this one I'll let you off the hook with that answer, but just this once," Mr. Lockheart warned, expression softening subtly as his eyes completely lost the stony appearance it had before, "Now go wash up. I'll fix you something to eat when you get out of the shower."  
  
  
The ruby eyed girl didn't answer back nor did she react with a shake of her head or any kind of body movements. All she did, when given permission, was turn her back on her two scrutinizing family members and slowly walk up the steps to the comfort and security of her bedroom.  
  
  
"Did she just....apologize," Faye asked once Tifa was out of hearing distance, a confused look on her delicate face but her lips producing a smile which contradicted the conflicting emotions within.  
  
  
"I don't know. I could have been high," the brown-eyed man explained, not unfolding his arms from their entwined positioning across his slightly muscular chest while his gaze still focused on the steps his teenage daughter had just ascended.  
  
  
"Well, if your daughter doing the unthinkable was due to you being high, then I want whatever you got."  
  
  
Both adults looked at each other carefully, their eyes shining with a new found hope, before a loud explosion of laughter encased the once gloomy room with nothing but happiness and glory. They continued to chortle with ease, the huge boulder of guilt and exasperation being lifted off their already heavy shoulders. It wasn't until today, did these two individuals burst into laughter with such a carefree and righteous nature, not even considering a chuckle when Tifa's mother had been diagnosed with her austere illness.  
  
  
****************************  
  
  
Yuffie Kisargi walked through Nibelheim, her hands shaking with earnest need as her legs stumbled with every step she took. Her short, ebony hair blew along with the velocity of the wind as the soft violet of her eyes shimmered with moisture. Some of Nibelheim's inhabitant stared at the young teenager strangely, but Yuffie didn't care. She had one distinct destination in mind and nobody would keep her from it.  
  
  
Many knew of the abuse bestowed upon her in the Kisargi household and some knew what her constant visits to Reno implied, but everybody minded their business and allowed this girl to do whatever she pleased. That was the charm of Nibelheim, people kept to themselves, only slightly gossiping, and never allowing themselves to get seriously wrapped up in the affairs of others.  
  
  
She forced herself to walk further and further into town, ignoring the obvious fact that her legs were so wobbly, it wouldn't be a big surprise if, in a few short minutes, she fell onto the cold foundation below. It didn't help the situation much either that Yuffie's eyes blurred more intensely with every step she took. But the inspiration of her reward far outweighed the physical strain and sacrifice that was being made. The reward's visual was what kept Yuffie going and was all that prevented her collapse.  
  
  
"Reno, open the door," the dark haired girl shouted, once she reached her arrival, standing at the front stoop, and banging her small fist on the door apprehensively, "I need to talk to you!"  
  
  
A few minutes lapsed by before the door was hastily opened, revealing the tall, redhead everyone loathed and avoided. His squinting eyes looked down on Yuffie's begging expression as an alcohol infested sigh escaped his frowning lips.  
  
  
"Yuffie, what are you doing here?"  
  
  
"I...I need more," Yuffie stuttered, continuing to stare up at the much taller man. Her pale face showed a trace of vulnerability that couldn't help but be noticed and felt, "please, you need to give me more."  
  
  
Reno continued to stare at the young girl. His heart seemed to pound immensely with guilt as his hand ran over his fiery hair nervously. He didn't want to sell her anymore of his merchandise, but it simply went against the regulations he had abided by. It was so easy to tell her to get lost and disconnect her from her addiction, for Reno was the only dealer in Nibelheim or anywhere close to this deserted town. But, sadly, it was so much more complicated than that. If his connections knew of his refusal, the green eyed man would have a huge price over his lightheaded destiny.  
  
  
"Come in," Reno said, allowing his eyes to search the outside premises before allowing his visitor to enter the obsolete apartment.  
  
  
Yuffie wasted no time, walking instantaneously by Reno and into the small, unkempt lodging. It was smaller than she had imagined it to be with spare clothes lying listlessly around and shot glasses overpopulating the coffee table, which sat in the middle of the room. Alcohol seemed to be all this man lived on and Yuffie could have made a bet with herself that the kitchen refrigerator was completely empty with nothing but the occasional beer and wine cooler. She didn't want to interfere because it was obviously none of her business how Reno chose to live his life.  
  
  
"OK, new rule, kid," Reno proclaimed, moving by the petite female and picking up the abandoned cigarette in the ashtray without stopping once in the process, "I wanna see the cash, right now, in full payment. If it's not all there, then you walk out that door right now. If you have the cash, then we're in business."  
  
  
Yuffie looked frantic for a moment as she spat out, "Reno, you can't do that! I don't have the full payment and I need this! I need it now!"  
  
  
The redhead looked unworried, a smug look crossing over his worn out yet still slightly attractive features. It was exactly what he expected. She was too young to pay without installments and too desperate to make negotiable offers which made even the slightest bit of sense. It was a sure thing. A plan that prevented Yuffie from purchasing any further illegal substances and, still, allowed himself to be let off the hook without any future heat from his accomplices.   
  
  
"OK, well, since you don't have the money, you know the exit route. Don't let the door hit you on the way out," Reno teased, taking a long drag from his cigarette and allowing a grin to materialize itself on his face as he exhaled.  
  
  
"How about I give you something else," Yuffie offered seductively, moving closer to her dealer with a certain glint in her eye, which even surprised Reno, the experienced man who had seen everything there was to see about seduction.  
  
  
As Yuffie grew closer, Reno held out a distancing hand while smugly replying, "Sorry, I don't take sexual favors in exchange for cash, this isn't you're local bank where you can make negotiations."  
  
  
"No! No, Reno, please don't do this to me! Please," the raven haired child screamed, tears burning her eyes and despair becoming her only emotional discharge, "Tifa took away whatever I have left, you have to give me some more! My dad's been on my ass so much more lately, I need this!"  
  
  
"Go home, Yuffie," the compassionate dealer stated, his eyes burning through hers as the patience within him began withering away slowly yet surely.  
  
  
"No," she shrieked, the fluids of angry emotions running down her cheeks while Yuffie swung her arms over the inanimate table and knocking over all the shot glasses, cigarettes, and ashtray which resided on it, "I'm not leaving until I get what I want! Give me what I want!"  
  
  
Once the fragile girl began her temper tantrum, Reno had already sprung into action, grabbing onto her thin wrists and pulling the unstable teenager back against him to restrain her from insuring any more damage. Yuffie struggled against the taller man's grasp violently, but his hold, even intoxicated, was still much stronger than her futile attempts.  
  
  
"Calm down! Calm down," Reno shouted, feeling her subtle resistance yet not faltering once, "I'm not gonna give you anymore drugs! You understand me? I mean look at you, you're all fucked up!"  
  
  
Yuffie cried even louder, her scream piercing his ears as the saltine tears in her eyes numbed her cheeks considerably. The struggles inflicted proved futile, but she wouldn't give Reno the satisfaction of knowing he had won both the battle and the war. With sound determination boiling in her veins, Yuffie began thrashing her feet along with her body.  
  
  
"Yuffie, stop! I'm warning you right now, if you don't calm yourself down, I will use physical force, so help me, I will," Reno warned viciously, noticing the younger girl's screams escalating intensely to where the public would be able to hear her, "So I suggest you stop!"  
  
  
The screams eventually subsided into heartbreaking cries, her tiny body growing limp in the older man's arms. Leaning back and eventually preventing any further heavy sobs to escape, Yuffie felt the redhead's arms around her, supporting the ailing body any way he could.  
  
  
"I hate you," the violet eyed girl murmured, lip quivering with earnest need as her eyes continued to water.  
  
  
"The feeling's mutual, you little brat," Reno teased as a smirk tugged on the corners of his mouth and his arms still continuing to hold onto the bipolar teenager for support.   
  
  
Silence rang and bounced of the walls of the small apartment as the two individuals stood completely still, enjoying the momentary bliss fate had to offer for the first time in both of their lives. As people walked by, continuing their quotidian routine, and the world slowly amused itself in it's rotating axis, Yuffie and Reno's moment remained frozen, embracing the comfort which they always hoped to receive but never have.  
  
  
****************************  
  
  
"We should go see a movie."  
  
  
Cloud moaned softly at his girlfriend's proposition, running his hands through the blonde spikes, which resided at the top of his head, and not hesitating to respond, "We go to a movie every, single, God-forsaken time we see each other. It was nice the first forty-one times, but, and I mean this in no offense to you, sweetie, it's getting to be boring and starting to make me consider suicide as not such a bad escape route."  
  
  
"Fine, then you think of something since you seem to be the Casanova of plan making," Aeris proclaimed, folding her arms across her chest in a defiant matter, as her gaze focused to the side and away from her handsome significant other.  
  
  
"I can think of something that will make you feel better."  
  
  
The blonde smiled softly, getting up and moving besides the sweet, yet apparently angry girl. He moved her light brown hair aside and placed his lips on her neck, causing the guilt within the flower girl to sky rocket to inhumane levels. She knew he only wanted to rectify his mistake, but Aeris wasn't feeling any more relieved, just more disappointed and unnerved.  
  
  
"Well, if we're not going to a movie, maybe we should just go get something to eat! I'm famished," Aeris exclaimed giddily, jumping up from the blonde's reach, and feeling her uncertainty lower to appeasing levels.  
  
  
Cloud remained on the couch, bamboozled at the green-eyed girl's sudden outburst. She always loved it when he kissed her neck in their early dating age, that just so happened to be her favorite way to relax. What had made her react so suddenly? Actually, now that he thought about it; ever since the previous month, Aeris had been acting very strangely. Cold, distant, and very discerning. It was very unlike her. Their relationship had encountered so many tempestuous friction that he constantly wondered what they were still doing together.  
  
  
"Aeris, is there something that you're not telling me," Cloud asked with a sigh, casting his eyes upon the young woman ahead of him as his body remained unnaturally relaxed during the confrontation.  
  
  
'Yes, Cloud, there is. I'm seeing someone besides you. Someone who I love more than life itself and it seems that everytime I look at you or even remotely place one finger on you, I feel this immense amount of guilt gnawing at my insides. So, sweetheart, I think it's best if we see other people.'  
  
  
It was what she wanted to say. Something inside screamed out at her to just say it. Make these feeling go away and go publicly be with the man you're meant for. The comment was inspirational and obviously the reason which would make everything OK again. But after the constant muse Aeris' conscience had posed as, all that escaped her mouth was, "No, babe, I'm just very hungry, so can we please go?"  
  
  
Cloud remained seated on the couch, unsure whether or not to believe the unlikely excuse she had just given. It was just too common for the reactions Aeris was giving, much to common to be specific. No, lack of food consumption was the least of the problem. There was a secret much bigger, than he could handle, behind those emerald orbs and Cloud would soon discover it without hesitation.  
  
  
"OK, just let me get my coat and we'll be on our way."  
  
  
Aeris seemed satisfied at his response with the feeling of her legs returning from it's previous numbness. She had feared Cloud had suspected something, for the teenager in pink was never a good liar. Everything seemed to remain the same when it came to their relationship, but her conscience said differently. If Aeris didn't break things off with Cloud soon, she would loose herself in a way which would be almost impossible to regain.  
  
  
"You ready," Cloud asked, returning to his lover's side while placing his coat over his upper body swiftly and holding out his hand to Aeris.  
  
  
Smiling, while reluctantly taking the awaiting hand, the brunette answered, "Let's go."  
  
  
****************************  
  
  
Tifa entered her room, towel drying the long strands of hair, which hung from her head, and making herself comfortable. Tossing the practically drenched towel onto the wall-side bed, her dark, moist hair clung to the back of her tanktop, causing a wet spot of become visible. Even with the heat on, the boxers and top she was wearing allowed goosebumps to form on her chilled body.  
  
  
She honestly didn't want to be in this house. It wasn't that her home was un-welcoming, Tifa just wasn't recently used to these walls. When her mother was still alive and well, the ruby eyed girl spent every moment she could in this room and by her mother's side. But the moment Mrs. Lockheart passed away, the walls seemed almost imprisoning with no escape apparent to the naked eye. The more time she spent within this house, the more it stopped looking like a sanctuary and appeared more like a prison.  
  
  
Sighing, the brunette walked past her desk, picked up a cigarette, and walked to the window, where her constant escape, when she was a child, lied. Opening the small transparent window, Tifa lit the slim tube and enjoyed the vast view Nibelheim had to offer. This town may be run down and sometimes unlivable, but watching the breathtaking view makes everything else seem so much more classier and unbelievably wonderful. Placing classy and wonderful in the same sentence when describing this town was unbelievable all in itself.  
  
  
Taking another drag from the cigarette, which hung limply from her lips, Tifa quickly noticed a small silhouette running across town. She was aware of the little things and this little thing you couldn't refuse to ignore.   
  
  
"Yuffie," the brunette half-murmmered to herself, too shocked to even place the awaiting cigarette back in her mouth as her crimson eyes remained focused on the consecutively fleeing girl.   
  
  
****************************  
  
  
She continued to run with cupped hands, afraid to bump into anyone for the outcome of someone seeing what was actually in her hands. Reno had revealed some kindness and gave her some of his sparse supply. It wasn't fresh or unused, but the gesture still was greatly appreciated.   
  
  
Yuffie's legs began to burn with the clear anticipation of the moment. She just wanted to get home, wanted to dull the pain, banish the harsh memories this reality had to offer. She just wanted to soar above it all and wanted nothing more than to feel free. Reno knew this and that was what made him reluctantly give her the remainders he had. She had eagerly took the merchandise in his hands, affectionately thanking the redheaded dealer, running towards the door and into the outside world where her fate lied.   
  
  
Her father was most likely home and that realization made Yuffie's steps cease. What if he had drank again? He hadn't laid one finger on her for the half of this day, but then again, it was only the afternoon. Many things could have happened when she went to see Reno at his rundown apartment. It didn't make a difference though. Eventually, the small girl would have to go home and face the father she   
unfortunately called her own.   
  
  
"Now I lay me down to sleep," Yuffie whispered to herself, tightening the grip on her hold, "I pray thee Lord my soul to keep."   
  
  
She approached closer to the Kisargi household, her eyes never leaving the small cabin home in fear that if she did otherwise, she would never have to courage to enter it's confines.   
  
  
"If I die before I wake," Yuffie continued, her eyes watering slightly in fear, "I pray thee Lord my soul to take."   
  
  
Yuffie outstretched her hand and opened the door swiftly, still remaining on the doorstep quivering. No drug in the world would be able to remove the unsecured sensations running through her body at the moment. It was too intense to explain and practically impossible to remove from existence. She hated this feeling. It was so constant she thought it would eventually become just another daily routine, but the fear remained and the screaming order to run the other way practically gave her a migraine. Now was the moment of truth : to run or not to run, that is the question.   
  
  
"Dad? Are you home?"   
  
  
Yuffie walked into the house on alert, the insecurities lifting suddenly away when not hearing her father's angry roar of a response or his heavy set body lying lazily on the recliner. The coast was clear and maybe for once, she wouldn't have to worry about hiding the bruises and scars which marked her supple body with such a vengence. The thought was so beautiful, the violet eyes, which were usually filled with tears and panic, now shone so brilliantly with hope. She, for once in her whole adolescent life, revealed the hidden child within.   
  
  
Moving across the living room, in fear of jinxing herself, Yuffie giddily climbed the steps, stashing her "stress reliever" into the small pouch hanging over her shoulder, and humming a small tune. Nothing could possibly ruin the reverie she was living in and shockingly, the dark haired girl would take a short, body refreshing nap without the occasional tossing and turning. Then afterwards, fix lunch for her father and herself.  
  
  
Yuffie twirled once she arrived at the top of the staircase and leapt to the door which separated the hallway from her own personal sanctuary. Giggling and pushing the entrance blockage back, the hopes within her heart immediately crashed and burned with no possible survivors, when her eyes beheld the individual sitting on her bed with a stern and drunken expression on his full-bodied face.   
  
  
"Didn't I tell you to clean this room? Didn't I?"   
  
  
Yuffie remained quiet, prepared to received whatever physical and emotional blow that was coming to her. She had so much to say in that brain of hers, but it was a proven fact that trying to prove this man wrong, especially with the excessive amounts of liquor in his bloodstream, was a colossal mistake. Not only did the fight make him angrier, but the blinding fury made him hit so much harder than humanly possible.   
  
  
"Ah, now she's too good to speak, just like her bitch of a mother," Mr. Kisargi slurred, grinning smugly to himself.   
  
  
The anger within the once patient girl burned so intensely, it outsized her body mass. Her mother was a good woman and did nothing more than try to keep this family together. It wasn't her fault that she ran off, leaving her husband and only child behind. It wasn't her fault that the drinking and abuse became so unlivable that it left her with the only option worth experiencing. Yuffie loved her mother, no matter if bitter feelings of leaving her father's wrath solely on her still remained.   
  
  
"My mother wasn't a bitch! You didn't deserve her! You never deserved her! You don't deserve anyone you hateful, sadistic bastard! I hate you! I hope one day you experience what we did every day of our lives and die a slow and agonizing death! I hope you get what you deserve! I fucking hate you," Yuffie screamed loudly, not surprised once she felt her father's hot hands around her neck and tossing her frail body into the nearby wall.   
  
  
"You disobedient little rat, I'll teach you to respect your elders," Gordo Kisargi shouted into his daughter's face, the stench of heavy alcohol burning Yuffie's nostrils, as one hand remained securely gripped on her slender neck and the other reeled back and repeatedly made contact with the tear stained face.  
  
  
****************************  
  
  
The wind was cool and relaxing from the open window as Tifa laid in her bed with eyes opened and aware of her surroundings. She wanted to run after Yuffie and check up on her, but the ruby eyed teenager thought better of it. Yuffie was a big girl, she could take care of herself and would have to make her own mistakes to learn life's lessons. Nobody was around to teach Tifa of the resentment and bitterness this world could, at times, be sick with. She learned herself and from the mistakes came the strength. Yuffie needed to learn that. On her own.  
  
  
Groaning, the brunette placed her hands over her face and rubbed vigorously. Her life seemed so swirled and confusing that it made insanity seem so easy to slip into. She wanted to be in Cloud's arms again, in the only place where her world seemed so much easier than it actually was. In his arms, Tifa's atheist nature deteriorated and she actually had something to believe in. Something, for the first time, considered beautiful.   
  
  
She groaned again, and made her way, once again, to the open window. Placing her hand up on the slender frame to support herself, Tifa's eyes scrutinized the outside world. The world where nobody, but the truly happy, wanted to live. She wished she could find the happiness which kept humanity satisfied but everytime she would look, the solution would always prove equivalent. Nothing is ever what it should be.  
  
  
Continuing to rely her body's weight on her gaunt arm, Tifa's eyes maneuevered towards Yuffie's house. She always wondered why nobody could ever hear what was going on in there. It was so obvious that nothing but violence occurred in those walls, but why could nobody hear her? For maybe if a single sound was heard, Yuffie could be possibly saved.  
  
  
"Cloud, stop! You know I'm really ticklish on my stomach!"  
  
  
Tifa's focus drifted once again from the Kisargi house to the floor portion of the town where Nibelheim's power couple walked, hand in hand. Once Cloud Strife and Aeris Gainsbourgh got together, everyone knew and practically considered their joining a holiday. These two were everyone's role model and it wouldn't be a surprise if Ken and Barbie were inspired by these two lovers because perfection obviously ran in reality and the world of plastic. Not only were the youngsters perfect but they also came from upstanding parents. The two individual's families were like the Cleavers, but only Cloud lacked a father figure and they were in color.  
  
  
Tifa continued to watch and was suddenly surprised when Cloud's focus drifted away from the love of his life and onto Tifa's window. Not only was she shocked at having the blonde's attention, but he also shared the same emotion at noticing her at standing by window in watchful contemplation. The two continued to stare at each other in mystical anticipation, either unable to tear themselves away from what they saw.   
  
  
Cloud was captivated at the wisdom and secrecy the crimson eyes of his affection had to offer. It was something he never dreamed of seeing or experiencing and slowly, they transformed into an emotion which he became utterlessly fixated with. In the ocean eyes of Cloud Strife, Tifa saw nothing but serenity and peace, like a lake under the soft kisses of the sun's rays. The aura it revealed was something the brunette yearned jealously for. She didn't want him to turn away for fear of never experiencing the joy his eyes had to offer to the observers of this world.   
  
  
Aeris noticed Cloud's wanders gaze towards the window, in which the town's black sheep stood. Her heart pounded with anger and selfishness as her hands reached out and grabbed her lover's chin gently, pulling him towards her and kissing his lips longingly. During the passionate kiss, green eyes opened and focused on Tifa, giving the speculator a glance which explained every threat thought of without any necessary words involved.   
  
  
Tifa remained unmoved, her eyes burning a hole right through the flower girl without any fear evident. As seconds ticked by and the two kissing fools broke away from their hold, Aeris shot the ruby eyed girl a venomous look, which was only reacted to by Tifa blowing Aeris a taunting yet supposedly friendly kiss and a subtle wave good-bye. The aggressor in pink huffed silently, removing her eyes away from the window, and grabbing onto Cloud possessively, moving away from the Lockheart house as quickly as possible.  
  
  
Tifa smiled at the damage inflicted and focused her eyes back on the Kisargi household, smile slowly dropping. She hoped Yuffie was learning from her mistakes and would soon actually recover from the emotional scars implanted in her by that bastard of a father.   
  
  
****************************  
  
  
Soft music played in the small bedroom as Yuffie's broken body laid itself on the small bed. Placing the small syringe in the pulsating vein located her inner-arm, her head tilted backward in pleasure as tears coursed down her pale and numb cheeks.  
  
  
Crying silently, she whispered to herself, "Everything'll be OK." 


	5. Who I Am

- Silver Linings -  
  
  
  
You see alone we stand, together we fall apart  
Yea, I think I'll be all right  
- Someday - The Strokes  
  
  
  
****************************  
  
  
  
"Here, take this."  
  
  
  
A young teenager, no older than 15, looked to her side, a huge, goofy smile on her oddly serene face. As she brushed a single strand of chestnut brown hair away from her eyes, a loud uncertainty escaped her delicately glossed lips, "I don't think I should."  
  
  
  
"Just trust me, Teef, it'll make you feel better."  
  
  
  
The teenager's skeptic eyes stared down at the bleached powder in the older man's hands, the loud music of the overpopulated club, after some time, causing ripples in her already pulsating eardrums. With the multicolored flashlights painting the room every color of the rainbow, the stentorious music, and the lack of any active neurons, which had to do with the thought process, all hope of refusal had evaporated into the vast, smog infested room.  
  
  
  
The brunette bent over into her comrade's open hands, closing her heavily glazed eyes, and placing a single finger on her left nostril while quickly snorting a small, yet inducible portion of the dust. Repeating the process, but only this time, in the once covered opening, the smile on Tifa's face expanded to new heights as her crimson eyes watered even more profusely than before.  
  
  
  
The taller man smiled at the girl's pleasurable expression as he placed his free arm around her shoulders and whispered into her twitching ear, "Feels good, doesn't it?"  
  
  
  
The smile remained frozen in place while the young girl wrapped her arms tightly around the redhead's neck and drowsily placing her moistened lips on his own. He ran his shivering hand up her back, slipping his tongue through the small opening of Tifa's mouth. The bitter concoction of alcohol and nicotine left a burning tingle on each of the individuals' lips, but it didn't repulse them in the least way. In all actuality, it did just the opposite; it make them want what the other was offering more.  
  
  
  
Tifa pulled back, her hand still located on Reno's shoulder for security, as she bit her lower lip playfully.  
Her self-control was far from gone as you could see from the disheveled look on her face. The glassy liquid caused crimson irises to shine so translucently, her eyes practically glowed in the darkened room as Tifa's body swayed to the music in a frazzled manner. She tried to concentrate on her admirer's face, but the more she tried, the more Tifa appeared look right through him.  
  
  
  
"You're such a tease, you know that," Reno breathed seductively into her face as he smoothly ran his tongue down the side of her neck.   
  
  
  
Tifa giggled, almost falling backwards, if not caught by Reno, from the unnatural amount of illegal substances located in her brittle body. She was so close to the redhead that if any more steps were taken, they would undoubtedly be fused together.   
  
  
  
"You wanna go someplace a little more....private," the green-eyed man offered, keeping close to the excessively heated teenage girl's body while bloodshot eyes were locked on her insouciant face intently and expectantly.  
  
  
  
Leaning closer than human possible, Tifa grabbed the lean man's backside and, with a tauntingly alluring smile, muttered in the most sultry mustered voice, "I thought you'd never ask."  
  
  
  
Reno grinned back while repeating his soon-to-be lover's grabbing motion, then placing an arm around the shorter girl's shoulders and leading them both towards the exit of the club. Everything was going perfect as the two maneuvered around dancing twosomes and grinding triangles. They become so close to the exit, it was almost as though it could be just reached by a matter of fingertip extension. They were close, but the two never made it to the outside world.  
  
  
  
"FREEZE! POLICE! YOU'RE ALL UNDER ARREST!"  
  
  
  
The club's mood transformed from complete aphrodisiac to complete pandemonium. Screaming and obscenities were heard echoing over the pounding music as the ravers proceeded to make a quick escape. The police exploded into the scene with tools of protection, trying, by all means necessary, to capture as many law aggressors as possible.  
  
  
  
"We gotta get the fuck outta here," Reno screamed, removing his arm from the intoxicated girl's shoulder and moving away from the bombarded exit to escape towards the back of the dance floor.  
  
  
  
"Reno, wait," the brunette pleaded, feeling the room spin out of control as her vision blurred to the point of sight deficiency, "Oh shit! I can't see! Reno, wait, you gotta help me! I can't see straight!"  
  
  
  
Tifa stumbled, unable to move without feeling the dreaded nauseous sensation of overdose. The drugs were taking a heavy toll on her and waiting for Reno's help was just a waste of precious minutes she had to make a futile escape. He was already halfway out of danger while the lethargic girl, who could barely walk, remained distinctly behind.  
  
  
  
Because of the fact she was so inebrious, it was easy for the police to take her down, and that was exactly what they did. Continuing the useless escapade, a heavy bodied personage plundered into her frail exterior and knocked her roughly to the floor, her delicate head slamming into the floor with a BAM!  
The room spun around even quicker than before, almost giving a distinct impression that a rollercoaster ride was in session.  
  
  
  
"Stay down!"  
  
  
  
The voice sounded so far away, so indescribably vague that if ears were not perked up enough, you would barely have paid any mind to it. To the heavily stressed, it would have been another reason to question their sanity. Feeling the room continuously spinning, Tifa's eyes closed from over-exhaustion and eventually, passed out soon afterwards.  
  
  
  
{Focus in on the young version of Tifa Lockheart, passed out, as the scene goes white.}  
  
  
  
Tifa Lockheart, now at 17, laid awake in her bed as the moonlight from the starlit sky danced it's way into the darkened room. She was indeed tired, but ruby eyes couldn't help but keep themselves open and aware of her surroundings. Not only was insightfulness a reason for the young girl's insomnia, but so many thoughts of both past and present haunted her to the brink of derangement.  
  
  
  
Groaning softly to herself, the brunette swung her legs over the bedside, running exploring hands through her pin-straight hair and pursing the plump, softly pink tinted lips, which happened to be the most distinctive attribute on Tifa's lovely face. Even though drug abuse had been a constant distraction from a better future, it wouldn't be ignored that this girl was indeed beautiful, give or take the below average body mass and permanent, implanted crevice on her bottom lip.  
  
  
  
She ran a single finger over her bottom lip where the aforementioned cut was located; barely touching it's contents. Tifa closed her eyes, allowing her mind to slip off and away from the very grasp she had held onto just a short time ago.  
  
  
  
{Scene, yet again, turns a bright shade of white for a short minute.}  
  
  
  
"You're grounded, Tifa! I don't want any more of your lip, understand?"  
  
  
  
"That's insane, I am not punished!"  
  
  
  
"If thinking that helps you get to sleep at night then keep thinking it, but just try and walk out that door and you'll face grave consequences."  
  
  
  
"God, I can't believe you're my father. I hate you!"  
  
  
  
Mr. Lockheart and his teenage daughter stood in the middle of the living room, eyes shooting glances of pure fury at each other without a single fear of what was to be. The tension was so powerful, it could have knocked out a pro-wrestler, who had just mistakenly walked into this very room, without a fight.  
This was the very moment where you could just foreshadow any kind of bitter resentment with words of venom in spontaneous disreguardment as a defense mechanism.  
  
  
  
"You hate me? How do you think I feel? My teenage daughter is not only ingesting every drug that's out on the black market but she's also been in more trouble with the law than Charlie Sheen and Winona Rider put together. Oh, and don't even get me started on you having a sexual relationship with a man twice you're age! God, Teef, what the hell happened to you? How did you turn from honor student to Nibelheim's Most Wanted's top ten criminals of the decade?"  
  
  
  
"Yeah? Well, since now that we're at the point of discussion where explanations are in order, would you care to clarify how this town's father of the year suddenly ended up the premiere tramp of the Nibelheimian area?"  
  
  
  
Mr. Lockheart recoiled, a certain shocked expression clearly engraved in his once warm eyes as his mouth moved the slightest bit, but was suddenly unable to produce any form of distinctively understood human language. The impact of what his daughter had just said was much too empowering to handle. All he could basically do was just stand completely still and voluntarily become the victim of his daughter's unimaginable rage.  
  
  
  
"Did you want mom and I to find out or something," Tifa asked exasperated, forcing herself to discard any moisture which would eventually stigmatize her eyes with thin red lines, "I wouldn't be surprised if you did because you basically threw your un-leg closing whore right at us! When mom was sick as well, how can you do that to her? How?"  
  
  
  
"Teef, listen, it was a mistake...."  
  
  
  
"It was a mistake, huh? So, what? Did she accidentally trip over a stapler and fall right onto your unzipped pants? Or even better, you both were asked by the mad scientist, Hojo, to join together and procreate with the sadistic intentions of breeding some kind of superhuman army of dysfunctional monstrosities with the sole mission of taking over the world? Please, 'father,' give me a break! There are no accidents when it comes to intercourse. Intentions are always there," Tifa explained bitterly, not able to look her father right in the eye any longer than a short second.  
  
  
  
"She's pregnant," Mr. Lockheart stated, getting right down to the point without dancing around the topic any longer than necessary, "we had intercourse once and now she's pregnant with my child. I kept seeing her for that and only that. She threatened to tell your mother if I wasn't a part of the child's life."  
  
  
  
Tifa's will was completely shattered and the tears, which she promised not to shed, became painfully visible. It wasn't out of selfish ambition that crying was misinterpreted as an escape route, for they weren't on her own behalf. Those clear droplets of emotion were specifically for her mother and the added suffering that unfortunately will be placed on her already frail shoulders.  
  
  
  
"Oh my God! Oh my God," she heaved, forcing her fist into an unbreakable ball, spinning around, and jamming it into the wall behind her. The fluids in Tifa's eyes were already running down her pale cheeks as her slightly injured hand felt the deep cracks implanted on the wall responsible for keeping her balance.  
  
  
  
"Tifa, sweetie, please, you're hurting yourself."  
  
  
  
"No, nothing or nobody could hurt me more than you already have," Tifa murmured, turning around with numb eyes, tear stained cheeks, and a throbbing fist which hasn't been unfolded just yet, "I always thought teenagers were programmed somehow to hate their parents during their growth into adulthood, just for trying to prevent them from freedom. I never thought they actually really hated their creators. In my behalf, I never did hate you, until now. I never thought I could hate anyone as much as I hate you and let it stand from now until the day I die, I will never feel one iota of love for you, ever! I'm sure you're new child will feel differently so why don't you go and be his or her father."  
  
  
  
More tears exploded from their resting spot as Tifa moved her way forward, but unable to pass her pleading father as he grabbed onto her shoulders tightly. There was a major struggle as the much smaller girl thrashed violently around and screamed for the grasping man to let go of her. Mr. Lockheart never faltered once but instead continued to vocalize his voice in ways which could be clearly heard.  
  
  
  
"I don't love this woman! I love your mother and I love you more than anything in this world! I would never abandon you both for a woman I spent just one night with! You and your mother are the only important women in my life, please understand that!"  
  
  
  
After countless attempts, the brunette finally broke away from Mr. Lockheart's powerful grip and stood before him with moist, angry eyes and flaring nostrils. The two stood staring at each other for, what it seemed to be, the longest year ever before Tifa finally re-jumped back into the ring, but this time, with metallic gloves.  
  
  
  
"You never deserved mom! She was this woman with everything to offer and everything to loose. You were a man with everything to loose yet nothing to offer! You're nothing but a selfish son of a bitch who deserves nothing but to be in my mother's place because we would be all be so much better off if you were dead," Tifa shrieked so loudly, her vocal cords in her throat vibrated so intensely, they began to go sore.  
  
  
  
The next action would be, in no way possible, foreshadowed, for it was an action that was remotely unthinkable. Mr. Lockheart raised his hand and struck his daughter without even reconsidering it. With the rough hit as well as her unstableness from the drug intoxication, Tifa spun backwards and fell into the awaiting coffee table, face first. No sound came from her mouth as she was hit and the crash of her falling into the table below was unspeakably morbid. It seemed to happen in slow motion, which made it so much worse than it already was.  
  
  
  
"My God, what have I done," Mr. Lockheart cried as he sprung forward and bent down to flip his daughter over and away from the broken and splintered wood underneath her. The sight below brought tears to his eyes and a harsh scream to his lips. There, Tifa laid in her father's quivering arms, her bottom lip gashed open widely and blood escaping from the sides of her head, unconscience and faintly breathing.  
  
  
  
{Memory begins to fade slowly away as the scene goes white.}  
  
  
  
Tifa had suffered a small concussion from that night and a permanent scar on her bottom lip as a constant reminder of the day her father turned psychotic for just a split second. From that night on, the hatred she felt for her father skyrocketed into unspeakable proportions. Not only had she just stopped talking to him, but she also treated him like vapor. He was there, just not visible.  
  
  
  
Sighing softly, Tifa laid back down on her bed, placing her arms over her eyes and this time, actually trying to get some sleep. As her mind and body began to relax, a soft tap was heard at her window, which caused the residing girl jump up in awareness. She froze in her sitting position, hearing another soft tap echoing in the room and into her perked ears.   
  
  
  
After a few silently passing seconds, Tifa lifted herself up from the comfortable bedside and walked towards the closed window carefully. She was very reluctant to answer the alluring call because of her last encounter with the flower girl, Aeris. That girl was so popular, in this town, that if she pleased, a town mob would be outside in a rowdy fashion, awaiting a public execution with pitchforks and a blazing bonfire.  
  
  
  
She smiled at the ridiculous thought and proceeded to open the window for further sight privileges. The brunette's head shot out and warm wine-colored eyes swiftly swept over the premises to spot any intruders. When the vigil eyes focused on a certain male figure standing by her house, the already pounding heart began to jackhammer out of control.  
  
  
  
"Cloud?"  
  
  
  
The blonde smiled up at the peering inhabitant of the household, cerulean eyes twinkling with a certain light which couldn't be denied if tried. He wore the same clothing as before, when Aeris had been by his side, but the blonde hair, which was perfectly spiked before, began to droop subtly.   
  
  
  
"Yeah, it's me, listen can you come out for a minute. I need someone to talk to," Cloud whispered audibly, crossing his arms over his chest while the same smile of assurance remained on his rugged face.  
  
  
  
"Cloud, it's really late. What would people say if they say me parading around with the town's most beloved's boyfriend in the middle of the night? I don't exactly consider a stoning on my top five list of fun things to do so I'll talk to you when the sun actually starts to appear over the horizon," Tifa explained while proceeding to close the window.  
  
  
  
"Tifa, wait! When did you ever start worrying what other people have to say about you," Cloud inquired, quirking an eyebrow of suspicion up to signal she's been caught.  
  
  
  
"Ever since my conscience finally gave me the new aspiration of becoming equivalent to the town's homecoming queen," Tifa sarcastically spat back with a look of distaste on her face, "you know, because to actually be considered a human being in this place, constant smiling and parading around while campaigning the joys of being the world's most perfect creation must be on a high on the list of priorities. But then again, you would know a little something about that, now wouldn't you?"  
  
  
  
"Wait a minute," Cloud proclaimed, stopping Tifa once again from closing the window, "where the hell is all that rage coming from? What did I ever do to you?"  
  
  
  
"More like the opposite, what have you ever done for me? Just because you saved me from suffering major medical damage doesn't give you the right to just secretly approach me when you need advice or someone to talk to. The last time I checked, I wasn't getting paid sixty dollars an hour to listen to your insecurities and how the world's high expectations of you is finally taking a toll on your mental stability,"  
Tifa said without emotion, her eyes narrowing on Cloud, "but if you're really desperate, I suggest a wall. At least it'll listen without the fear of loosing any kind of brain cells in the process."  
  
  
  
"I tried already, it won't listen," Cloud responded back nonchalantly, not once being shaken by Tifa's intimidating nature.  
  
  
  
"Or maybe you should go talk to Aeris, not only is she your girlfriend but it's not like she has any neurons left to spare anyway."  
  
  
  
"I know, but brain damage might be a possibility and I don't want a deficient girlfriend."  
  
  
  
"I don't think inflicting any more deficiency than, obviously, already there is humanly possible," Tifa finished off, her temperamental attitude showing visibly through her wit.   
  
  
  
Cloud smiled up at Tifa and focused his gaze on her eyes once again. He couldn't figure out why the town considered her such a bad influence, well, besides the promiscuity, attitude, and drug abuse, which was always gossiped about, Tifa Lockheart was a smart and beautiful person. He knew Tifa was right on how being seen with her, in the middle of the night, would cause a big stir throughout the town, but in a way, Cloud just didn't care anymore. He wanted to know what was in this mystery's mind; how she thought and what her views were. He just wanted to get to know her and meet the interesting person everybody loved to hate.   
  
  
  
"Please, Tifa, just give me a chance. All I wanna do is talk to you," Cloud begged seriously, his eyes pleading with her to come down from her room and speak with him.  
  
  
  
She frowned upon the opportunity for a moment but after seeing how desperate Cloud was, Tifa couldn't help but say, "Fine. Just give me a second to change, I'll be out in a minute."  
  
  
  
****************************  
  
  
  
Cloud leaned against Nibelheim well, looking up at the stars in an infatuated manner. He never did take time out of his busy schedule to look up into the vast universe above. A universe, which could hold so many secrets about this world that humanity lived in. He never did take the time, but from the sight he beheld at this very moment, the blonde would try from now on.  
  
  
  
"Great sight, isn't it? Makes you wonder if there's some kind of discreet secret out there that nobody knows about except the people who actually take the time and contemplate it," Tifa said briefly, taking a place besides the teenager with the azure eyes and looking up into the illuminated sky as well.  
  
  
  
"I never thought about it that way before," Cloud answered, tearing his gaze away from the stars, looking upon the girl besides him, and quickly refocusing himself back to the original point of interest.  
  
  
  
"Nobody really wants to know anything beyond what tomorrow has in store for them. They plead ignorance and just ignore the fact that there's so much more important information out there than the predictable questions of how should I do my hair or should I have coffee or just a glass of milk for breakfast? Kinda sad, but what're you gonna do about it?"  
  
  
  
"I think people are too afraid to wonder what other possibilities are out there for them. People are so used to familiarity that they're just too afraid to imagine their life going through just a minor change," Cloud explained, crossing his arms across his chest once more and focusing even more intently on the heavens above.  
  
  
  
"You of all people should know what that's like," Tifa pointed out, copying Cloud's motions and crossing her arms as well, but only this time, resting her eyes on her companion.  
  
  
  
"What's that supposed to mean," the blonde asked a little taken off guard, also tearing his eyes away from the previous sight to the girl besides him.  
  
  
  
"Oh, c'mon, Cloud, you live your life according to what other people expect of you. They expect you to be this genetically engineered human-being who's mission is to bring pride to Nibelheim because of you're unnatural ability to always choose what's right. You base your existence on pleasing other people and in return gaining their approval of you. I bet you can't live your life just one day without fulfilling people's expectations and for once doing what you wanna do," Tifa interpreted without once stuttering on a single word.  
  
  
  
"And what makes you think I'm aiming to constantly please?"  
  
  
  
"Because I can see you don't love Aeris. It's so painfully obviously to the disillusioned by just taking one good look at the two of you together, yet you still stay with her. Why? Because the town considers Aeris and yourself the Romeo and Juliet of our time and you go along with that misconception like this brainwashed and unmistakably whipped puppet that believes your own life depends on making this relationship work when it really doesn't," Tifa stated, lifting her leg up and placing her footing on the well's exterior wall, "Now you think about what I just said and tell me I'm wrong. If I am, we'll drop this whole discussion."  
  
  
  
Cloud was taken aback by this girl's observation. It wasn't from the fact that she contradicted his love for the flower girl, but the absolute opposite. Tifa hit his thought process right on the nose and that realization scared him to believe he was easier to read than he thought.  
  
  
  
"You are wrong because I do love Aeris," Cloud exclaimed, uncrossing his arms and turning completely around to face Tifa, "I really do."  
  
  
  
Duplicating the blonde's movements, the ruby eyed girl smugly replied, "If you love Aeris so much, then why are you here with me then here with her?"  
  
  
  
He couldn't say another word because he knew he was stuck. Cloud Strife, for once in his life, was stuck in a corner his mouth couldn't get him out of. He had finally met his match even though this individual happened to be his complete opposite and the last person he had ever expected to remotely be friends with.  
  
  
  
Tifa uncrossed her arms, smiled securely and moved away from the well to climb the rusty old ladder, which hung on it's side, while shouting down, "Come on up, I wanna show you something."  
  
  
  
Cloud just watched shortly as Tifa climbed up towards the top before following in suit. It had been a while since he had bothered to climb to the top of the Nibelheim Well. The last time he had even bothered was when he was ten years old and his friends and he spent all their time playing by the well. One day, they got bored just running around that an idea of adventurous proportions crept into their childish heads. That was the day each boy conquered their fear and literarily reached for the stars.  
  
  
  
Once Cloud reached the top, he saw the crimson eyed beauty, who was responsible for this escapade, already perched at the edge of the well, clearly awaiting his arrival. Climbing up the remaining stepping poles, Cloud maneuvered his way around the edge and finally, after a while, finding a seat besides Tifa, staring up at the sky the way they had been just mere minutes ago.   
  
  
  
"Look around you, Cloud. Look at the town," Tifa began, sweeping her eyes around the small town and finding nothing but houses, shops, and the local bar, "this is what you have right now. This is what you're afraid of loosing. But now, look beyond that. Look up at the horizon."  
  
  
  
Blue eyes looked up from his previous location and at the horizon line to where Tifa so delicately pointed out. To where the sun usually rose and settled. To where a world, beyond Nibelheim, laid, just waiting to be discovered by a lost and wandering traveler.  
  
  
  
"That's the life beyond Nibelheim. You have to understand Nibelheim isn't all you have, there's so much more you're ignoring and choosing not to take advantage of. That's a shame because the life across that horizon line is a life that's just waiting to be reached out for and taken. A life that's so much different from the dysfunctional one you have now. If you want it, all you have to decide is when you want to take the chance and actually reach out for it. But remember, Cloud, that if something's gonna happen, it's gotta happen now," Tifa mentioned, brushing her hand across a strand of honey hair, which fell over his searching eyes, and stood up to make an exit, "You have one shot at life. Don't make it so you regret it."  
  
  
  
Cloud sat at the edge for a while, thinking over what was just said, before standing up and exclaiming, "Tifa, wait!"  
  
  
  
Tifa held onto the ladder beneath her, standing completely still, and awaiting Cloud's earnest response, which had kept her from making a rapid descent to the ground.  
  
  
  
"Thanks."  
  
  
  
It was a one-worded statement that was hardly worth the curiosity produced, but the word made Tifa emit a small smile and head nod before re-pacing herself and making a swift decline. While the brunette made her departing escape, Cloud continued to stand on the well's edge and stared up at the horzion line, which had been another one of the world's mysterious he had never paid much mind to, with a new perspective of life and what it could possibly become.  
  
  
  
****************************  
  
  
  
Tifa Lockheart re-entered her darkened household, a pleasurable look on her young features. Not only had she completely changed the perspective of Cloud's view on life for the positive, but she had also reverted her own to the way it used to be. The way of life her mother had taught her when she was growing up, but absolutely crushed when she decided to go down the road which eventually led to her wild ways. The day her mother died was the day her life started loosing meaning, but the day Cloud found her in the storm was the moment the shattered pieces of her uncertain life began to refit themselves back together.  
  
  
  
Walking through the livingroom, yet being very careful of awakening her slumbering aunt, Tifa entered the room in which she never thought she would step back into since her mother grew ill. The room in which a grand piano sat, untouched, and heavily dusty. Her mother had taught her how to play when she was just a baby and ever since then, the brunette never wanted to stop. It was ironic how her vow suddenly reverted into a sour distaste and avoided like a severe plague once the words of "I'm sick," escaped Mrs. Lockheart's lips.   
  
  
  
Stepping over some of the scarce books located spastically on the floor, Tifa approached the large instrument with care, touching it's dust infested surface. It seemed so strange to just touch the piano, so very foreign, yet so electrically energizing. After running her fingers back and forth over the blockade, which kept the actual keys hidden, Tifa lifted it up and revealed the glorious black and white objects which were partially responsible for producing beautifully sounded music.   
  
  
  
Tifa proceeded to sit on the small stool and run her fingers over the keys before beginning to play a song her mother had taught to her. A song which always brought comfort to the young teen whenever problems would arise.   
  
  
  
{- AN - The song Tifa will play is a song I heard when a friend of mine played it - It's called 'Loss Of Me' - a very beautiful song from Final Fantasy IX so if any of you like piano music and would like to listen to the song you can download it on Kazza or any music trading software.}  
  
  
  
The brunette spread her hands out and placed her fingers on the keys, softly pressing them to produce beautiful sounds. Serene music eventually began to be played as slim fingers continued to rummage around the piano, old memories and talents returning quickly.  
  
  
  
{Cloud continued to stand outside on the well, looking up at the sky with his hands shoved in his pockets. Thoughts of varies events ran through his mind as a smile tugged at the corner of his lips involuntarily.}  
  
  
  
She moved her fingers quickly, keeping up with the expected melody, yet unaware that an audience had appeared behind her. Mr. Lockheart and Faye stood at the doorway, watching the young prodigy play the song, which reminded them all of the dearly departed woman, everyone had loved so much. A smile formed on their mouths as the taller man placed a hopeful arm around the admiring redhead.  
  
  
  
{Aeris laid in Zack's arms under the star illuminated sky outside of Nibelheim. They both had a peacefully content expression on their faces as Aeris' head laid on her lover's slowly moving chest.}  
  
  
  
Tifa's hands moved more slowly over the keys, imagining her mother sitting right besides her. The illusion was so intense, she could almost feel Mrs. Lockheart's comforting arm around her shoulders and experience her warm smile. A smile which could have melted any cold heart. It seemed so real, her mother alive and well, but then came the painful realization that it was just a child's false hope. A mere delusion that would never come true no matter how many prayers Tifa said at night.  
  
  
  
{Yuffie laid asleep in her bed, not bothering to have removed her clothes and changing into her nightgown. She had a dreamlike manifestation on her face as her body laid just a broken as before, if not even more so.}  
  
  
  
Music poured out of the instrument intensely, almost infecting the once silent house with rambunctiously sounded, yet beautifully conducted, notes. With a clearly pensive mind, Tifa's thoughts escaped back to the night Cloud had taken her in from the rain to this very night where he had completely opened her up to new possibilities, just by allowing her to save him. This blue eyed boy, who Tifa would have never even thought of before, had opened the door which sucked her back into the positive mentality she had lost grasp of before. He gave her the strength to play the song, which had always soothed her soul, on her mother's old piano.   
  
  
  
{Reno took another shot of alcohol in his un-lively dank apartment, feeling the guilt of giving the young girl another hit of heroine. He wanted to stop her from taking any more substances, but he had failed, just like he always had before.}  
  
  
  
As Tifa continued to play her mother's song on the antique piano and her father and aunt happily listening to her talented abilities, five destinies began to unfold as the sun slowly made it's way into existence, revealing a brand new day as well as a new life choice to Nibelheim's inhabitants. 


	6. Happily Ever After Only Happens in Fairy...

Silver Linings  
  
  
  
*************************  
  
  
  
The sun crept into existence over Nibelheim's cloudy horizon, causing an explosion of warm colors to expand over the once darkened sky while maiming the remainder of clouds which complicated the process of daylight breaking. The cool wind of night's discourse rippled through the town's Maple trees as the swaying effect erased any thought of possible silence.   
  
  
  
As the sun rose and the trees swayed among the morning's gratifying existence, a young, raven haired woman silently escaped the confines of her darkened home with nothing but today's itinerary in her distant mind. During the previous night, she had not closed her eyes once, for memories of the encounter with Cloud Strife would constantly embellish themselves in her mind like an incessant, never-ending movie experience.   
  
  
  
Closing the old-fashioned Victorian door securely, yet quietly, Tifa Lockheart practically leapt from the front foyer of her household onto the in-ground stepping stones, which decorated the pathway towards the front gate. It was a beautiful first sight she beheld with widened eyes. The heavens were impassionately painted various colors of orange, gold, and auburn with the implication of an endless abyss on the other side of it's Monet-like exterior.  
  
  
  
It was absolutely amazing what lost infatuations could be aroused in result of one simple conversation. In all actuality, it was amazing how nothing seemed to be remotely normal since Cloud had taken her in from the storm, which practically devastated Nibelheim. Tifa had never felt so enlightened and inspired by a single person, besides her deceased mother, in all her life. The feeling was so immaculately intense, what horrified Tifa to an unnerving extent, wasn't the emotional discharge itself, but the fear of loosing the ultimate comfort only a certain blonde haired boy could give her.  
  
  
  
Her legs seemed to stay grounded, walking their normal misguided way, but thoughts inside Tifa's swimming head allowed wings to materialize, in effect, causing her head to soar above natural heights. Bodily disproportion entwined with possible romantic interest was the last train of intimidation usually perceptive crimson eyes refused to see, but her heart screamed out differently.   
  
  
  
'Don't even think about it,' Tifa chastised herself bitterly, 'I am not going to fall for someone who's not only completely out of my league but also taken by the town's symbol of idolatry. No, I'm not going to allow myself to fall even more deeply into the meteor-sized crevice that is my reputation.'  
  
  
  
'Too late,' a small, unknown voice whispered back tauntingly while leaving behind an after effect of rippling echoes.  
  
  
  
She stopped, feeling the cool autumn air suddenly prickling at her bare arms with an anticipating shiver running up the spine which miraculously went cold with frightening realization. The sun's exploring rays seemed to fall on Tifa's still body, showering her with it's warm embrace, as the sashaying trees continued to dance in the wind's influential gust. Besides the constant movement of the aroused maple trees, time practically gave the suggestion that it was standing completely still for human kind's undeserving benefit.  
  
  
  
'I don't love him. I don't even know him,' Tifa continued the internal struggle passionately, feeling betrayed with every inveracity spoken in her own defense.  
  
  
  
'God, that was always your problem. It was exactly what drove you into the life you lived in the past and the consequences you're living through here in the present. You ran and you're still running. What's even more of a shame is you might just be running away from something good this time.'  
  
  
  
Those words burned themselves in the pensive teenager's scrupulous conscience, making an unwelcomed home within her already misleading head. Her thought process was so discombobulated, it caused the anxious brunette to question her previously firm beliefs. Nothing was worse than contemplating the life lessons you thought pain and strife taught you, then realizing all that tremendous amount of suffering was possibly in vain.   
  
  
  
Tifa placed the black beanie, which resided in her once tightened grip, on her head while increasing leg movement down the stone path below her hammering feet. It was although the quicker she moved, the more thoughts would reinstate themselves in her already overwhelmed conscience. No matter what the brunette did or softly said to reassure herself, the reflections of past and present mistakes would always come back, ten times worse.  
  
  
  
Frowning shortly, the adolescent stopped once again, annoyed at the simple fact that this was becoming a constant cycle. Cloud shouldn't have even been a part of this overrated cycle, but unfortunately, his memory seemed to have forcefully penetrated inside, disarranging every other thought in the process. His blonde hair. His shimmering blue orbs. The dimple that chiseled itself into his left cheek whenever he smiled. Everything. It was sheer torture to just merely imagine his perfection, but not be able to reach out and actually touch him to test the theory of whether this man was real or not.  
  
  
  
Tifa's feet remained glued to the asphalt below her, the conflicting struggles within being the chains which held her in strict captivity. It drove her mad to realize a man, no, not even a man, a teenage boy, drove her to such insane mental instability. She knew these thoughts wouldn't help her any, for he was in love with someone else. Someone who just so happened to be the symbol of all the perfection this universe was missing.   
  
  
  
"Forget this," Tifa murmured while figuratively unwrapping the chains which held her in a frozen position. It felt good to actually move her feet and walk again in peace without the increasing weight of all her thoughts balled up into one colossal issue that became equivalent to the mass of a pickup truck.  
  
  
  
'You're missing out on something so good because of the fact that you're so afraid of getting hurt. I'm disgusted of even being a part of you.'  
  
  
  
The brunette didn't answer back to her internal accusations in high hopes that if her conscience was ignored, it would just get the hint to leave her already crazed mind alone. She was partially right, for not allowing thoughts to become master of her body caused the already softly spoken voice to become even more distant, soon, gratefully, becoming dead to existence.  
  
  
  
Smiling to herself, Tifa approached the Kisargi household with a song in her heavily beating heart as the sun began to rise further and further up into the painted sky. Jumping over the front gate, in fear of awakening her most likely hung over father, Tifa stealthily moved to the side of Yuffie's quiet household and proceeded to take a look in the back. Mr. Kisargi's truck was missing, which meant he went into town to either pick up more beer, cigarettes, or the monthly welfare check. But knowing Yuffie's father, he most likely proceeded to pick up the check and, then afterwards, using practically all of it on beer and cigarettes. So, to put it in layman's terms, the answer to the previous million dollar question was obviously all of the above.  
  
  
  
Shaking her head, Tifa snuck back towards the front, knowing it was safe to enter the house without the fear of any uncomfortable confrontations. Just a couple of months and Yuffie wouldn't have to live in that drowning uncomfortableness any longer. It would all be over soon, and she would finally receive the life that should have been her natural birthright in the first place.  
  
  
  
Tifa had met Yuffie about a year ago and ever since, the mission to save the victim had grown to uncanny attachment. At first, Tifa had became her mentor, trying to keep the child off the road she herself had been on in the past. But soon, the longing to protect Yuffie had involuntarily turned to love. Love only a mother could feel for a child destined for destruction.   
  
  
  
It would be very soon until destiny would take a drastic turn from destruction to succession. Shortly, Tifa would turn eighteen and the two of them would run far away from here. Run away from a place of prejudice and abuse to a place of unspeakable beauty.  
  
  
  
FLASHBACK  
  
  
  
"Tifa?"  
  
  
  
Tifa Lockheart sat leaning against the Nibelheim well, guitar in hand, as a young Yuffie Kisargi perched besides her, head on her shoulder while blowing bubbles into the clear azure skies. Hearing the soft spoken voice, the older teenager stopped strumming the guitar strings and looked over to face the side of her comrade's innocent face.  
  
  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
  
  
The raven haired girl quit her constant bubble blowing and slowly placed the bottle by her side. Closing her violet eyes and feeling the cool gust of air against her bare arms, she reluctantly spoke up, "Do you think we'll ever get out of here? I mean, do you think we'll ever find a place that would ever make us happy?"  
  
  
  
Tifa continued to look to her side at the relaxed preteen resting comfortably on her shoulder. Sighing, she moved her hand over Yuffie's hair and placed aside a stray strand of her unruly hair, which fell over her closed eyes, "I think we'll make it. One day, everything will be OK again. You just have to be patient and keep your eyes open until that opportunity comes."  
  
  
  
The surroundings became silent once again, the only source of sound being the birds echoing chirps of hunger, before Tifa proceeded to re-play the guitar for Yuffie. Her fingers flowed against the strings before suddenly feeling a slight body shake on her arm, followed by a droplet of moisture, which rolled down the musician's arm without even considering a break. Looking to her side once again, keeping her fingers completely still, Tifa felt her heart shatter at seeing Yuffie's small, grieving form.  
  
  
  
"Hey. Why're you crying?"  
  
  
  
"You're gonna leave me, aren't you?"  
  
  
  
"What," Tifa asked exasperated at the out of proportioned question. She quickly removed the guitar from her body, placing it by her side, and giving Yuffie the undivided attention she deserved.  
  
  
  
Remaining quiet for some time, Yuffie finally opened her glazed eyes, yet made sure to avoid eye contact with the other watchful individual, while bluntly explaining, "You're 17. In a year, you're gonna leave Nibelheim.....and me, behind to find that place that makes you happy. You're gonna forget all about me and I'll never see you again. But you can't leave Teef, I need you here."  
  
  
  
"Shhh," Tifa whispered to the hysterical raven haired girl by her side as she removed the sweater from her own body and wrapped it around Yuffie's shivering one. Encasing her arms around the child in pure comfort, Tifa proclaimed softly, "I'm not gonna leave you. I promise."  
  
  
  
Yuffie continued to lay her head on her protector's shoulder, tears still freefalling down her face and onto Tifa's t-shirt, "I don't want you to be miserable because of me."  
  
  
  
"You're not making me miserable," Tifa explained while placing her chin on the top of Yuffie's head, "listen, I'll make you a deal. When I turn 18, I'll pull a mission impossible and come get you in the middle of the night. We'll leave Nibelheim together. Just you and me. You will never have to see your dad again and you can just start over, what do you say?"  
  
  
  
Yuffie's tears stopped as her head slowly lifted up and looked into the ruby eyes which glanced back down at her, "Honest? We'll go away and never have to come back to Nibelheim again?"  
  
  
  
Tifa smiled, and nodded her head, "I promise. We'll just....disappear."  
  
  
  
Yuffie smiled amongst the tears and laid her head back on Tifa's partially soaked shoulder while drifting off into a peaceful slumber of beautiful dreams that the newly foreseen future beheld. Tifa just sat, leaning against the well, with her arms holding onto the lost girl while her cheek rested on the top of Yuffie's head.  
  
  
  
END OF FLASHBACK  
  
  
  
Tifa reached underneath the welcome mat of the Kisargi household and pulled out a shimmering copper key. Even though the exterior of the key was dank and not in the least bit glimmering, the sun did wonders to it's surface and made the lock manipulating instrument practically supernatural. Almost like the secret tool to unlocking a greedy leprechaun's pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.  
  
  
  
Slipping the key into the lock, the curious brunette twisted the knob, and proceeded to push open the door. She knew this was considered illegal and extremely frowned upon in Nibelheim. Plus, considering how drastically teetering her reputation was already, Tifa didn't need an attempted robbery to be added onto her War and Peace sized record. But she needed to know how Yuffie was doing. It was a fundamental factor of a heavy conscience reliever, eventually leading to her being able to sleep a good night's rest.  
  
  
  
The livingroom was completely empty, besides the obvious couch, television set, and coffee table. It was although this house was owned by a bachelor, not a man trying to raise a growing child. How selfish could this man be because in Tifa's mind, he was ranking pretty high on the totem pole.  
  
  
  
"Yuffie?"  
  
  
  
Tifa walked through the livingroom and into the kitchen, sticking her head in the confines of the small area and noticing it just as empty as the family room. It was obvious the girl was still asleep, it was, in fact, before noon. Hell would freeze over as soon as God and the devil decided to swap current roles of good and evil before Yuffie Kisiragi ever, at least once, opened her eyes before the time frame was considered an appropriate time to eat lunch.  
  
  
  
"Yuff, I was up last night and I was thinking of places where we could go," Tifa shouted out, while jumping over a nearby box and twirling once before deciding to ascend the stairs, "I mean, it's only two months in counting before we book it from this unprecedented inferno we call our precious hometown. Home is where the heart is, huh Yuffie? Let's just say, home is where my foot would be if it had an asshole."  
  
  
  
Laughing at the mental picture, Tifa continued to climb the stairs and speak as well, "Well, anyway, I was thinking we could go someplace far and start over. Maybe someplace like Kalm or even Gongola. Someplace serene because honestly, I'm tired of all the commotion and my old woman alter ego is seriously begging for some quiet time."  
  
  
  
Yuffie hadn't responded once and the moment was beginning to become very twilight zone-like. Even though the girl was one of the very few people who could easily sleep through the entire day, she was a light sleeper. Her mind had began to process even the slightest noises at being a threat, so even though her body would sleep, her mind would constantly stay on alert.  
  
  
  
Tifa stopped at the top of the stairs for a long moment to process some thoughts running through her head. What if Mr. Kisargi had hurt her severely and that's why he had left early this morning? To get away from the town's accusations and law enforcement. Allowing her imagination get the best of her, she walked forward and immediately opened the door to Yuffie Kisargi's room, not even bothering to knock.  
  
  
  
On the small bed laid Yuffie, in, what appeared to be, her previous day's clothing. She was fast asleep, velvet eyes hidden behind her heavily closed lids. One factor Tifa couldn't help ignore was the fact she looked so cold, almost to the extent of frozen levels.   
  
  
  
"Yuff," Tifa called out, loud enough for Yuffie to clearly hear yet soft enough for bypassers to barely register as a whisper.  
  
  
  
Yuffie didn't move. She didn't even twitch once which made Tifa unnaturally nervous in her own skin. Perspiration began to form at her hair line as slender hands shook in a convulsing fashion. Her mouth began to grow dry as last night's dinner began to slowly churn sickly in her, at this moment, manipulative stomach.  
  
  
  
Keeping completely still at the doorway, Tifa's voice sank down to tiny decibel levels as small amounts of tears formed in her widened eyes, "Yuffie?"  
  
  
  
*************************  
  
  
  
"So, I tried coming to see you last night, but you weren't here? Where were you, Cloud?"  
  
  
  
Cloud Strife sat un-mesmerized on the couch, a look of boredom evident on his face. She always did this. Blamed him for something he was completely innocent for, yet he always forgave her with no questions asked about her misconceptions. Cloud loved Aeris, she was everything he could have hoped for in a significant other. Yet there was something always lurking in the shadows of their supposedly perfect relationship. Something dark yet evilly charismatic. It was almost as though the trust and honor both had once shared before, quickly evaporated into nothingness.  
  
  
  
"Cloud, please tell me. I'm just curious to know where your whereabouts were. I'm worried about you," Aeris proclaimed passionately while crossing her arms across her chest and tapping her foot impatiently on the floor.  
  
  
  
"Why do you always do this, Aeris?"  
  
  
  
The innocent flower girl was taken aback by her love's sudden outburst. Her foot quit it's incessant beat on the wooden ground as silence finally exploded onto the scene and left both individuals thoughtless of the next argument that would be used in their avid defense.  
  
  
  
"I mean, you always accuse me of going out and committing these acts of treason against our relationship. What? Do you have a guilty conscience or something," Cloud exclaimed, finally getting his composure back after a few moments of silence passed over their heads.  
  
  
  
"I'm just saying that you were out late last night, what would a guy your age be doing out that late? Nothing's open so basically there was absolutely nothing to do," Aeris shouted back, getting back into her role as the prosecutor of this travesty we as human beings like to call a once stable relationship gone sour.  
  
  
  
"It's called a walk, Aeris. Have you ever heard of one? It's when a certain person uses their legs as a form of travel for the sole purpose of getting some air or possibly clearing out some thoughts in their overbearing head," the blonde haired man screamed in his defense, not being able to take any more pressure from the girl who was always supposed to be on his side.  
  
  
  
Aeris was dumbfounded by Cloud's direct abruptness and recoiled from the blow inflicted sarcasm. She wanted to apologize to him, but words were the last thing on her mind as her thoughts ran a million miles a minute. Even though she did want to speak, the words would come out in cryptic. Her thoughts were that enwrapped in each other that it was humanly impossible to decipher one from the other at this exact moment.  
  
  
  
"You spend every waking minute accusing me of my supposed indiscretions against you that our relationship is completely falling downhill! I mean, do you even care that each day we're drifting farther and farther apart?"  
  
  
  
Emerald eyes widened at the comment which was just spat out at her. In a way, it was a relief that Cloud was pushing her more and more away. It was what she wanted, a reason to break completely away from him and be with Zack. But something inside, something selfish, didn't want to let go of this man before her. Aeris didn't want to keep stringing along both men, but she also didn't want to cut one loose either. Both satisfied her in ways that would constitute for a single above average man.  
  
  
  
"Cloud, no," the flower girl shouted out while running forward and wrapping her arms around her lover's neck tightly, "I'm so sorry, please, don't break up with me. I need you!"  
  
  
  
There was no response on the opposite side. Cloud didn't wrap his arms around Aeris nor did he whisper any reassuring words into her perked ear. Because in all actuality, he didn't know what more to say that would make this situation any better. He could lie to her, it was always an option, but Cloud didn't feel right about it. To say words of a declaration of love to a certain someone requires certain depth. A depth this man didn't come close to possessing at the moment.  
  
  
  
"Listen, Aeris," Cloud murmured, pushing back his girlfriend gently, "I don't know how much more I can take. Everyday, you make me frustrated. Don't get me wrong, I love you, but you make me frustrated beyond repair."  
  
  
  
"Cloud, I'm so sorry. I love you, please forgive me for being such a wretch. It's just, thinking of you holding another girl the way you hold me makes me so crazy. I don't mean to take it out on you, baby, honest to God, it's just, I love you and I don't want to loose you," Aeris proclaimed, looking up into Cloud piercing sapphire eyes and caressing her soft hand over his tender cheek, "Baby, please, give me a second chance."  
  
  
  
He continued to look down at Aeris, a smile slowly possessing his lips. Running his hand through her chestnut brown bangs, Cloud sighed and wrapped his arms around the petite girl to pull her closer to him. He did love her. Everytime he was near this girl, his heart would skip not only one beat, but two. Even if Cloud Strife tried, he wasn't so sure he'd be able to break permanently apart from this ravishing beauty in front of him.  
  
  
  
"So what do you say we go catch a movie," Cloud whispered in Aeris' ear while slowly pulling back and away from the warm embrace. As he finally released himself from her grasp and had plain view of the female ahead, blue eyes widened in surprise as he screamed out and fell backwards from the extraordinary shocking impact.  
  
  
  
There, before Cloud, wasn't the beautiful flower girl, but the enigmatic Tifa Lockheart, with a smile playing her sultry lips. Placing one hand on her narrow hips while using the other to move aside a stray lock of hair, the brunette went down on her knees, crawled on top of Cloud's still form and whispered, inches away from his face, in a seductive voice, "She isn't who you want, so why don't you do us all a favor and stop playing yourself."  
  
  
  
  
  
Cloud Strife shot up from the comfortable spot on his bed. Sweat drenched his body as stray strands of once perfectly spiked hair stuck to his moist forehead. As he ran a hand over his face, to clear away all the excess moisture, Cloud sat in contemplation of the immensely intense dream sequence. It didn't make any sense, for it wasn't Tifa he wanted, it was Aeris..........wasn't it?  
  
  
  
*************************  
  
  
  
Music blasted from the stereo system in the Lockhearts only child's room. Tifa sat on her bed, writing in a small book, as the energetic Yuffie Kisargi bounced around the small room to music from The Clash. The atmosphere, even with the horridly loud music was serene as the two girls shared a certain bond blood sisters would be jealous over.  
  
  
  
"Teef! C'mon I need a dance partner," Yuffie shouted over the music, while skipping over to the bed her 'guardian' was resting on, and jumping onto it.   
  
  
  
"Yuff, I gotta make estimations on our trip," Tifa proclaimed, putting down her book and looking down at the child with curiously interested eyes.   
  
  
  
Yuffie stuck out her lower lip and gave it enough energy to quiver playfully, which, instead of giving the implication of getting her way, only made the brunette laugh out at the kid's antics. Leaning forward, Tifa tickled Yuffie's sides causing the raven haired girl to jump up in surprise and began to scream in laughter. As complete pandemonia continued to ensue and Tifa continued her squirming exploration, Yuffie screamed once more, but this time, it wasn't out of joyful delight.  
  
  
  
Tifa stopped immediately, seriously glanced down at her, and didn't once falter to lifted Yuffie's shirt up. As Yuffie begged Tifa to stop, it was already to late, she had caught vision of the heavily doused bruises on Yuffie's fragile ribs. The sight almost made the ruby eyed teenager burst out into tears at that very second as tears burned it's way to the surface. Tifa closed her eyes and placed a hand over her mouth, which, at the moment, would serve as a muffler to prevent any incredulous vulgar words from escaping her lips.  
  
  
  
"Hey, Teef, it's not as bad as it looks," Yuffie tried to reassure her as she began to sit up on the bed, across from her worried protector.  
  
  
  
It was a scary thought, but Tifa didn't have a word of either encouragement or profanity to say. Not about the bruises. Not about the bastard who inflicted these gruesome marks on this girl. Not about anything. All she did, was sit erectly up, hand still on her mouth, and allowed tears to slip from underneath her closed eyelids.  
  
  
  
"Tifa, please, don't cry," the child begged, while wrapping her arms around Tifa's shivering form in comfort. Nobody had ever cried for her before, and the feeling felt knowing someone actually cared, felt almost miraculous.  
  
  
  
"Just two more years kid and we're out of here. We're out of here," Tifa proclaimed softly while wrapping her arms around Yuffie gently, trying not to touch the damaged area of her skin, "You'll never have to deal with that bastard again. We'll go somewhere people like that don't exist."  
  
  
  
Yuffie laid in the older girl's arms, closing her eyes and feeling a certain warmth emitting from these human sources of comfort. Smiling, she whispered loud enough for Tifa to hear, "I love you, mom."  
  
  
  
[Focus in on the serene face of Yuffie Kisargi as it shifts back into the current form of the child]  
  
  
  
"Yuffie? Yuffie," Tifa screamed loudly as she ran to the bed and shook the girl roughly, "Yuffie! Wake up! Yuffie!"  
  
  
  
"Oh god. Oh god," she replied over and over again as she tried to awaken Yuffie and exile the tears which flowed down her cheeks to prevent any blinding, "Yuffie, this isn't a fucking game! I swear to god, you little bitch, if I find out your lying to me, I'll leave Nibelheim and your ass behind!"  
  
  
  
There was no response. Not one hint that Yuffie was still alive, just asleep. Tifa sunk down to her knees at this realization and grabbed onto Yuffie's hand to cry into it. Her heart broke as coldness swept over her body in a heavy blanket of frost and ice. Shaking her head, ruby eyes looked back up and whispered, "Please, sweetheart, you're all I've got. You're all I've got left."  
  
  
  
She didn't move which made Tifa arise and lay besides the practically slumbering girl, but not before a glint of light hitting a certain object laying innocently on Yuffie's side. Leaning forward to grasp onto it's surface a burning fury passed through Tifa's eyes as she gripped it's content which such aggression it could have broken the object in half.  
  
  
  
"Reno......." 


	7. An Eye for An Eye

Silver Linings  
  
  
  
*************************  
  
  
  
"I can't wait until we get out of this stupid town."  
  
  
  
Tifa Lockheart looked up at the glittering stars, which perverted the sky above. She removed the cigarette from her mouth and continued to listen to the vocalized thoughts of her small framed companion while keeping her arm wrapped securely around her to protect her from the frosty night air.  
  
  
  
"My life always just basically sucked. I had no one. My mom left me. My dad beats me. I've never had any friends because their too afraid of me, but then, you came along and made everything so much better," Yuffie stated, staring forward and not even daring to tear her eyes away from the extremely concentrated gaze.   
  
  
  
Tifa flicked the cigarette of any excess ash that may have clung on for dear life, kept her head tilted upwards towards the heavens, and ironically said, "I didn't make anything better by coming along. Your dad still beats you and I can't do a damn thing about it."  
  
  
  
Yuffie finally had enough strength to avert her watchful eyes away from the town houses and glance up at her friend, who was, at the moment, taking an extremely long drag from her cigarette. Sighing, the young girl explained, "I don't want you to be angry or sad because my dad beats me, but I want you to be happy and proud that you saved me. You changed my life, Teef, and I know you'll do the same for a lot of other people, too."  
  
  
  
[FLASH WHITE]  
  
  
  
Tifa laid besides, and grasped on tightly to, the lifeless body of Yuffie Kisargi. Small, breathless sobs escaped the brunette's cherry lips as tears soaked through the shirt, which was located underneath her cheek. The heart within fixated itself in microscopic pieces at Tifa's bubbling stomach, causing bile to come up and down systematically. Why did this have to happen to her?  
  
  
  
"Why couldn't it have been me," Tifa whispered to no one in particular about the sudden spur of drug addiction massacring Yuffie's life span. Wiping her heavily tear-streaked face, the grieving girl propped herself up on her elbow and reached out to caress the cold face below her, "You're so cold, Yuff."  
  
  
  
That small statement, only containing four simple words, caused another attack on her emotions. Tifa snatched her hand away from Yuffie's face and placed it up to her quivering mouth while another set of tears fell from her wide open eyes. She didn't, nor could she, blink. The glaze of crystalline moisture entwined with many thin red lines were so intense, you could barely figure out what color her eyes truly were.  
  
  
  
"Did you wanna die? Is that why I lived and you....," Tifa asked, unable to finish her accusation, after removing her hand from her lips and rejuvenating enough energy inside herself to speak, "What am I gonna do now, Yuffie? You were all I had left....Why did you have to go and be so stupid? Why did you have to be so naive? Why wasn't I there?"  
  
  
  
Shaking her head, her eyes became so heavy, Tifa was unfortunately forced to blink. Three huge droplets of moisture escaped from captivity and ran free down her milk-felt cheek. Taking in a sharp breath of air to refill her practically empty lungs, Tifa asked bitterly, "How am I supposed to change other people's lives when I couldn't even save yours?"  
  
  
  
Tifa cried out softly once more and placed both cupped hands over her face, unable to stop the tears from exploding to existence like fireworks on a Forth of July day. It was although years of never produced tears were coming back to haunt her, making the situation more unbearable than it actually was. Her soul crumbled down to nothingness as her chest contracted and practically shriveled like a raisin under the hot sun. The feeling experienced was murderous as her body felt like it was just about to permanently shun itself from human interaction.  
  
  
  
"I couldn't save my mother. I couldn't save you. I can't do anything worthwhile," Tifa murmured into her hands. Her arms were as heavy as lead as her head soared to new heights in a light, feathery manner. She wished her strife would go up along with it, but adversity knew better than to allow the sufferer peace of mind. So there, located deep inside the crevice, where sunlight would never dare touch, was every painful confrontation Tifa Lockheart had ever experienced in her lifetime as a child and a teenager, pulsating unnaturally to life.  
  
  
  
Sighing deeply, the crimson eyed teenager finally had enough courage to look back down at what reality actually was. It was twisted and ugly, containing nothing but severely morbid infatuations in obtaining pleasure by watching the oppressed and stricken. It was the world she, as well as all human kind, was damned to coexist in for the rest of their natural lives.  
  
  
  
Tifa stared wearily down at Yuffie, gently stroking her short hair, as thoughts of vengeance crossed her spontaneous combusting mind. She would extract revenge for the intentions which have stabbed her directly in the back and took away the only source of comfort she had the right to call her own. Reno would pay and there would be a calming justice, even if her own life had to be sacrificed for it to happen.   
  
  
  
Snapping herself back to reality, Tifa leaned forward and kissed the freezing cold forehead of the raven haired child while running her fingers through the thick strands once more. Not daring to look back or even utter one last word of remembrance in fear of tears beginning to fall once again, the vindictive individual stepped off of the barely editable bed and reluctantly left the small bedroom. She would never see Yuffie or any of her emotional characteristics again, unless if it was at her grave site. That thought alone produced a harsh scowl on Tifa's immobile lips.  
  
  
  
*************************  
  
  
  
Loud and clattering noises were heard throughout the Kisargi household. She knew Mr. Kisargi owned the object she was looking for, but at the moment, it was nonexistent. Throwing aside clothing and objects, opening drawers after drawers, nothing, which could have been of sheer importance, became evident and that caused Tifa's anger and impatience to rise a couple degrees above natural temper tantrums.  
  
  
  
"Fuck!"  
  
  
  
Ripping the drawer out of it's position in pure fury, Tifa ran a hand through her dark hair before proceeding to continue her frantic search. Nothing was catching her eye and realizing the fact that this futile rummaging was going nowhere made the teenager's blood boil even more dangerously in her veins.   
Removing articles of clothing and practically tearing the house apart, her eyes suddenly fell upon an object which reflected the sun's powerful rays that were creeping into the household with stealth.  
  
  
  
"Bingo," Tifa, in relief, responded, reaching out and gripping the slightly heavy metallic object in her hand.  
  
  
  
She looked down at it's smooth, silver structure as a glint of malice to pass across her unusually turbulent orbs. The bitter scowl remained locked on her once angelic face as Tifa lowered the gun, barrel facing the floor, and exited the deathly silent household with only one distinct location in her tortured mentality.  
  
  
  
*************************  
  
  
  
"Hello, sweetheart."  
  
  
  
Cloud glanced up briefly and noticed his very disheveled mother walking through the front door. Rolling his eyes, the azure eyed boy sarcastically replied, "You should really start taking a map with you because you seem to get more and more lost as the days go by."  
  
  
  
Mrs. Strife smiled at her son's humor while hanging up her coat carefully and walking over to his side. Plopping down on the couch besides him, she tapped his leg gently and exclaimed, "I think I found Mr. Right last night."  
  
  
  
"So when did Midgar become the hot spot for the Mr. Rights and man of my dreams," Cloud asked scrupulously, moving slightly away from his mother, grabbing the remote and changing the channel to CNN for the latest breaking news on SOLDIER and their whereabouts at the moment.  
  
  
  
"Ever since Robert came to town. Oh, he's so beautiful. Piercing green eyes, blonde hair, tall. Oh, Cloud, he's so....perfect," Cloud's mother squealed in delight, clapping her hands together and looking over at the incredulous look on the other individual's face.  
  
  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry, do you want me to run out, buy a wig and dress so we can go get manicures and pedicures while reading the newest issue of Teen Scream and arguing which guy would look the hotter in a G-string? Honestly, mom, I could really care less about your love life or the men who you find so incredibly dreamy."  
  
  
  
"When did you become such a bastard," Mrs. Strife asked seriously, standing up from the couch, snatching the remote and shutting off the television set her son was previously watching.  
  
  
  
"Ever since you forgot how old you really are and go masquerading around town like supermom looking for her next prey, claiming it's just to get a father for your son when the fact of the matter is it's for your own selfish desire. The only reason you go out late at night looking for Mr. Right is because you're afraid I'm going leave you one day and then you'll be alone without a single soul to look after you. Well, guess what mom, if I am completely out of line in my thesis, one statement does stay true to it's name. I am going to leave you one day," Cloud shouted viciously, lifting himself up from the couch and walking directly towards the coat rack to pick up his jacket.  
  
  
  
"Where do you think you're going? We're not done this discussion, young man!"  
  
  
  
Turning around, Cloud simply explained, before walking out the door, "We've been done this discussion for thirteen years already, get over it."  
  
  
  
"Cloud," Mrs. Strife shouted emotionally while not being able to surpass the tears which materialized in her eyes and came to existence on her flushed cheeks. She couldn't let him leave her. Cloud was the only person she had left who genuinely loved her without conditions. If he left, and proved how much he despised her, then Mrs. Strife would have no one. Just an estranged son, who couldn't possibly hate his mother any more than he already does.  
  
  
  
*************************  
  
  
  
It was early out. So early that you could clearly smell fresh bread being made in the bakeries and flowers being transferred from the captivity of artificial light to a more comfortable place under the morning sun. Nibelheim was never this much of a hustle during the afternoon, which gave Cloud reason to believe that he was missing out on all the town's glory by being kept up in his room, under the sheets, and fast asleep.  
  
  
  
Sighing, Cloud dug his hands into the pockets of his jacket as his feet dragged themselves across the stone bound floor. All the events of his life were so disarranged, it seemed close to impossible to put them back into exact chronological order. Besides his obvious graphically abnormal home situation and the life altering question of whether or not he would join SOLDIER or go to college instead, his romantic life was on the fritz. Aeris or Tifa? That was the question.  
  
  
  
Aeris was exactly what a goddess would look like if Cloud ever did behold one with the naked eye. Piercing, breathtaking eyes. Lips, erect and soft with a velvet smooth exterior. And a body with such in depth curves that even a race car driver wouldn't be able to handle. Those were just the few simple characteristics which separated the women of this world from this exquisite beauty. Aeris was both as strikingly beautiful inside as well as outside with a personality and charm which could blow any approaching man's mind.   
  
  
  
Tifa was Aeris' exact opposite in all ways of physical, intellectual, and emotional. Tifa was so multidimensional. She didn't just have one smile, or one glance, she had many. Not only did she hold such vast characteristics, but her mind was one of the most attractive features she held and that was a very hard trait to find in a woman. Her eyes, the shade of burgundy wine, was filled with wisdom yet also possessing a certain loneliness and grief. They were almost hypnotizing with immense amount of appeal. It was although with a single glance, this girl would be able to encourage the most logical of men to rob the nearest bank in her name. So you see, beauty would be enough to describe the lovely flower girl, but that specific word was too simple, too ordinary, for Tifa Lockheart. The beauty she possessed was so much more complex than that word could ever be.  
  
  
  
"Cloud!"  
  
  
  
The blonde protagonist looked up quickly while being awaken from his reverie. As his eyesight processed the atmosphere around him, Cloud spotted one of the women his mind's eye was contemplating about. Aeris, with in her soft pink sundress, jogged towards him with an earnest need for conversation on her ivory complexioned face.  
  
  
  
"Aeris, what is it," Cloud asked as the approaching girl finally came eye to eye with her destination. Placing his hands on her small shoulders, blue eyes stared down at his girlfriend in concern, "Is there something wrong?"  
  
  
  
"Get your hands off of me," Aeris sneered while roughly removing the strong hands from her petite body and proceeding to lift her hand back and slap Cloud sharply across his already chilled cheek, "You pig! How could you do this to me?"  
  
  
  
Cloud held onto his burning cheek with surprise, a boiling fury being tempted, to the point of seduction, to explode from his once calm and cool exterior. He closed his eyes and, as his blood pressure began to simmer, once again faced Aeris with an emotionless expression on his rugged features. Cloud stood quiet, fearing that if he made one sudden movement or spoke his scattered mind, actions or words might be implored that he would later regret committing. So, keeping his arms firmly planted at his sides and a frown tightly sealing his lips, the patient blonde continued to listen.  
  
  
  
"I go out to pick up bread for my mother and do you know what I hear as the town's newest gossip," Aeris asked, shaking with anger while fists remained still, tightly balled up, and ready to swing in vengeance, "That my boyfriend was parading around Nibelheim with the town reject late last night! So, Cloud, what were you doing last night?"  
  
  
  
Cloud still did not answer any questions or further proclaim any excuses. He was too angry to even open his mouth in defense and his body was close to the point where seizures would soon overtake him. What had happened to her? Aeris used to be so loving, considerate, and trusting. They were the traits which attracted him to her. Now that they had miraculously disappeared so did the compassion and patience he once held towards her.  
  
  
  
"I must be loosing my hearing because I don't hear you speaking," Aeris shouted, pushing Cloud backwards with a shove of her hand, "How could you hurt me like this? I loved you, you bastard! How can you betray someone you supposedly love!"  
  
  
  
"You must be loosing your hearing and your memory from all those times in the past you accused me of cheating on you and I told you in return that I loved you and only you," Cloud exclaimed back, not being able to take his own silence, "That comment stood then and it also stands now. I would never cheat on you or hurt you in any way. Ever! So stop the ridiculous accusations before I get whiplash from verbal abuse!"  
  
  
  
"I still don't believe you," Aeris whispered, backing away from Cloud as she folded her arms across her chest stubbornly, "People SAW you, Cloud. They saw you with her by the well! How am I supposed to trust sight over word of mouth."  
  
  
  
"Because trusting with words means you trust with your heart," Cloud explained, taking Aeris' hand and placing it on his chest softly, "You feel that? It's my heart beating with complete trust in you. Because of the simple fact that I love you. Now that question is, do you love me enough to let your heart beat in trust, too?"  
  
  
  
Aeris kept her hand over his heart and felt the vibrations of it's swift beating motions. She didn't know what to say. Cloud was such a beautiful person and she had no right to blame him of such heinous crimes when she herself was guilty of the indiscretions she was accusing him of. Aeris loved Cloud. It would be a lie if she said she didn't, but her heart didn't beat for Cloud Strife. It pounded like a hammer jack from the yearning of affection from a certain black haired mercenary.  
  
  
  
"Cloud," Aeris murmured, while pulling her hand back towards her own body, "I need you to answer me one question then. One question which will either make or break us."  
  
  
  
Cloud stood completely still and waited for the question which would alter his life for either the better or worse. He couldn't help but be nervous, for he knew deep inside, this was going to be a question relating to Tifa. And if Aeris asked him whether he cared for her or not, he wouldn't be sure if he could lie and deny his affections for the crimson eyed girl. Cloud gripped his fists together and grounded his feet to the floor while reluctantly replying, "Ask away."  
  
  
  
"Are you in love with her?"  
  
  
  
"Aeris, stop this," Cloud began but was interrupted by the flower girl's immediate interception of him touching her.   
  
  
  
"No, I won't stop this. I'm serious, Cloud. Do you or do you not love Tifa Lockheart," Aeris exclaimed, biting her lower lip in anticipation of the long awaited answer she had been dying to know. Part of her was paralyzed by an uncertain fear that she would loose this man as the other yearned for a reason to disconnect him from her life. The opposite repulsion caused her stomach to grow slightly queasy but no matter what pains struck her at the moment, Aeris would keep her eyes on the situation without distancing herself once for mercy.  
  
  
  
"This is ridiculous," Cloud shouted out frustrated, "I can't believe you're asking me if I love this girl. A girl who I don't even know! You need some help, Aeris, because the paranoia really isn't doing well for your mental stability."  
  
  
  
"What's ridiculous is the fact that you can't answer a simple question. If this question is oh so crazy than why don't you just answer it with a no," the smaller brunette proclaimed unwrapping her arms and stepping forward with courage. Looking up at Cloud's flustered face, Aeris smiled and cocked her head to the side in victory, "I thought so, but you're just so proud to admit it."  
  
  
  
"Go home, Aeris," Cloud growled before turning his back away from the girl in pink and beginning to walk away, not wanting to argue any more for the townspeople were already beginning to turn their undivided attention towards the two conflicting lovers.  
  
  
  
Aeris smirked bitterly and followed Cloud through town, obviously not done with their relationship altering fight, "I can't believe you're leaving me for a drug addict who's fucked every single guy in Nibelheim! So, what, are you gonna ask Santa for an STD for Christmas because let me tell you, Cloud, if you start dating her it won't be long before your wish comes true!"  
  
  
  
Cloud spun around furiously while accelerating at his provoking girlfriend. Grabbing her by the shoulder, Aeris gave a sharp cry of surprise as she felt the blonde's cool breath on her face as he hissed, "Not now, I'm not in the mood! So go home and stop fucking around!"  
  
  
  
Cloud pushed his victim back and rushed off once again. He knew people had seen him grabbing Aeris in such a violent matter, but he didn't care. All he could think about is going home, rushing up to his room, and packing. He was going to leave Nibelheim because honestly, he didn't think he could take any more of this town's unruly bullshit. There was something better out there that this world had to offer, and by tonight, he would figure out what that something may be.  
  
  
  
*************************  
  
  
  
The boots on her feet collided heavily with the ground as her breathing was harsh and shallow. Her head was pounding as her eyes were swollen from the extreme amount of moisture which have fallen down her tear stained cheeks. But above her physical vulnerability, nothing compared to the passionate explosions her emotions succumbed to. Hate, grief, anger, bitterness. They all were manipulated into each other, leaving behind discourse of a dangerous product.  
  
  
  
Tifa Lockheart walked through town and, sooner than she had expected, came to her final destination. Scowling, the brunette knocked on the door roughly, expecting Reno's heavily drunk voice screaming for them to go away. She may have been correct if there had been a hint of life on the other side of the poorly composed door. Without an answer or rummaging, Tifa became even more impatient than before. Raising her fist, she knocked once again, but this time a little more demanding and persisting than the first.  
  
  
  
"Calm down. Jesus, I'm coming."  
  
  
  
Waiting anxiously, Tifa finally came into sight contact with a pair of intense aquamarine eyes. Aquamarine eyes, which at the moment, appeared to look very shocked at the visitor standing at his doorstep. Rubbing his eyes, and noticing that this girl wasn't an apparition of his late night drinking, Reno asked, "Tifa, what are you doing here?"  
  
  
  
"I need to talk to you," Tifa replied in an emotionless voice yet trying her best to make the topic of discussion sound very important and appealing.  
  
  
  
It didn't take much convincing because not even a minute had passed before the redhead opened the door all the way and allowed the smaller individual to enter his home. He had a distinct idea of why this girl had come to pay him a visit this early in the morning. The idea had revolved around their last encounter and the anger Tifa had shown him. That thought alone was enough to keep her from entering the primacies. But then, he thought about how scrawny this girl was and all the fears had disappeared like vapor from his mind.  
  
  
  
"What can I do for you, Lockheart," Reno began as he shut the door and leaned against it for support. The piercing hangover was still in full effect and he had no tolerance whatsoever. But his curiosity of knowing what his opponent's proposition was overruled the pain being experienced.  
  
  
  
"Why did you give Yuffie more smack when I told you not to," Tifa began the interrogation, commanding her voice not to crack or show any sign of weakness once the visual of the young girl's lifeless body came to her mind like a horrid rerun.  
  
  
  
"This again," Reno breathed, closing his eyes and leaning his head back in irritation, "I told you before, if a customer comes to me asking for junk with cash, I'm going to give it to them. Even if that someone is Yuffie. C'mon, Tifa, you of all people know the way I operate my business!"  
  
  
  
"So the way you operate your business is killing girls who haven't even or ever will experience their eighteenth birthday? If that's the way you operate your business, I'm gonna tell you the way I operate mine."  
  
  
  
Reno opened his eyes and focused his attention on Tifa, who was now aiming her once hidden gun right at his head. He jumped at the sudden realization of what her intentions were and immediately shouted, "What the fuck are you doing, Teef?"  
  
  
  
"I'm paying you back for taking away every single thing I ever held dear," the brunette screamed, eyes beginning to shake with freshly brewed tears as her breathing increased rapidly, "You took away my pride! You took away my opportunity to ever be someone important! You took away my innocence! You took away my understanding of how good this world could actually be! You milked me of all the potential that made me a human being and no, that wasn't enough, you took Yuffie away from me! You took away the only person I held dear ever since my mother died! You took EVERYTHING from me and now I'm gonna return the favor!"  
  
  
  
"Tifa! No, you don't wanna do this! You don't have it in you to kill....."  
  
  
  
"What do you know what I have in me? What the fuck to you know what I have in me," Tifa shrieked, moving forward and placing the gun right in between Reno's now closed eyes, "I'm not even alive anymore thanks to you."  
  
  
  
Reno kept his eyes closed and felt the cold metal of the hand gun against the bridge of his nose. Shaking slightly, he heard Tifa continue to speak dangerously close to his face, "Let me tell you what I do have in me. I have it in me to shoot you right between the fucking eyes without blinking once and feeling some kind of immense conscience gnawing guilt afterwards. You know why?"  
  
  
  
"Why," the dealer asked softly, keeping his eyes closed and trying desperately not to collapse from the extreme amount of pain traveling up the side of his face from the headache which was now spreading like a grease fire that had just been previously doused in water.  
  
  
  
"Because you deserve everything that the future has in store for you," Tifa whispered slowly before backing away from Reno's cowering form but not lowering the gun once as a system of defense, "Open your eyes."  
  
  
  
A unique shade of aquamarine was now visible once again, but surprisingly with the fear he was experiencing, there was no tears visible. He cried all he could when he was a child, now, there was nothing more left than regret and denial of past memories in his darkened heart. Reno stared at Tifa as she stared right back at him. Shameful remorse overcame him for Yuffie's demise, but was quickly hidden away from his pride's desire.  
  
  
  
"You sold her the shit and you killed her," Tifa began, emotional droplets of emotion resurfacing themselves involuntarily, but still keeping her eyes firmly locked on his, "and I was the once who had to see her when she stopped......breathing. She was so warm yesterday yet today....lying in her bed.....she was so.....cold. And I knew she would never be warm again. Actually she would never be able to do anything again. Not smile, not laugh, not cry, not scream......not anything because of you! You stripped me of everything and you did the same to her, yet this time.......you stripped away a girl was too young to survive bare."  
  
  
  
Tears fell from Tifa's eyes and onto her cheek as the gun in her hand shook and temptation overcame to pull the trigger and be rid of the man who did nothing but destroy everything she had ever loved. Everything she had ever touched was doomed to suffer and in some way, she wasn't just angry at Reno for giving Yuffie the drugs, but she was also angry at herself for not being the one who intercepted the deal. Repositioning the gun, she placed the side of it's barrel on her forehead as she closed her eyes and cried silently.  
  
  
  
"Teef, listen I know you don't want to shoot me. You had it rough when you were a kid and I know how you feel right now at loosing Yuffie......"  
  
  
  
"Shut the fuck up! Shut the fuck up," Tifa screamed angrily, while re-aiming the gun back at Reno and moving forward once again, "You don't know anything! Anything about love or emotions. You're not even human, you're just a flesh created creature who knows nothing but to inflict damage he doesn't even understand on other human beings. How does it feel to know the sole purpose of why you were born was to bring other people pain and oppression?"  
  
  
  
"Tifa, you're angry. Don't do something you're going to regret later on," Reno proclaimed, trying desperately to reason with his aggressor, "Let's talk about this, OK? We'll get this figured out."  
  
  
  
"No. No more talking," Tifa explained, gun still aimed and locked on steady target, "You have nothing that I would want to hear from that lying sack of shit you call a mouth. You know, if I shot you right here and now, who would cry for you? Nobody. Why? Because you are a nobody, Reno and if I did put you out of your steady misery I would probably not only be doing you a favor but humanity as well."  
  
  
  
"Tifa....."  
  
  
  
"You know, you don't know the first thing about being human," Tifa spat viciously out, forcing the gun to his forehead mercilessly, "the only thing you know how to do is get drunk and drugged up! You're a waste of economically suitable space and you deserve nothing than to be in Yuffie's place."  
  
  
  
"Don't you think I have a right of say to what I deserve," Reno exclaimed, finally stepping up to bat as his courage creeped decibels up the totem pole of drastic actions. He wanted to live, that was a fact, but not because he had begged pathetically for his life.  
  
  
  
"You have the right to my foot up your ass," Tifa said after smacking him with the pistol across his cheekbone, "You really have some set of balls stepping up to me and preaching about your declarational obligation of rights where destiny is concerned. Let's take a trip down memory lane since memory loss seems to be a deficiency for you. Yuffie is dead and why? Because you played God with her destiny and completely screwed her out of a solid future. Sorry to break it to you, but at the moment, destiny isn't exactly steering you in the direction you pleased.  
  
  
  
"I never played God with anyone's future! Yuffie came to me, so she decided her own demise! I didn't expect her to die," Reno screamed in his own defense, expecting another blow to the face but, surprisingly, yet graciously, not receiving one.  
  
  
  
"You never expected her to die, but she did," Tifa explained, wiping her eyes of any excess tears which may have remained, "Yuffie was only 14. She was young and naive. I guess this was fate's way of punishing me for all the crimes I committed, but one thing I will never forgive is the fact that it should have been me! It should have been me!"  
  
  
  
"Tifa, you weren't meant to die," Reno explained, while moving his hand slowly over and picking up his nightstick by the door while the brunette wasn't paying much attention, "but let me tell you something. Don't fuck with someone you know would be able to fuck you right back!"  
  
  
  
Reno swung the nightstick at Tifa and knocked her over before the trigger could be pulled. She fell down to the floor, vision blurry and lip beginning to bleed from the impact. The gun fell right besides her with a loud clanging noise. The situation was shocking, but not impossible. The hunter had become the defenseless prey.  
  
  
  
"Destinies aren't meant to be determined by other human beings, Teef. You of all people should know that," Reno exclaimed while straddling the lanky teenager on the floor and placing the nightstick to her throat with murderous intentions, "but for you, sweetheart, I'll make an exception."  
  
  
  
Tifa squirmed underneath the heavier body and began to turn a sickly shade of red from the pressure inflicted on her throat. Moving around her hand fell upon the weapon she had once held as a threat. She was never planning on shooting Reno, it was only top scare him into getting mental help. But unfortunately the plan had backfired and she was left with no other option.  
  
  
  
Kill or be killed?  
  
  
  
Tifa gripped onto the object, her arms growing heavy from the lack of blood flow and oxygen. Lifting the dangerous weapon up to Reno's pulsating temple without any further hesitation to reconsider her options, Tifa pulled the trigger before a deafening sound made a break throughout the small apartment and most of Nibelheim. As the shot was heard and a life was taken, the adolescent's existence would be altered by one single action.  
  
  
  
BANG! 


	8. Declaration, Proclamation, and Liberatio...

-------------------------------------------  
  
  
Silver Linings  
  
  
-------------------------------------------  
  
  
[Your words to me just a whisper  
Your face's so unclear  
I try to pay attention  
Your words just disappear]  
  
  
"What have I done?"  
  
  
My mouth was dry. My hands, burning with acid residue from the thick, crimson liquid profusely escaping my victim's wound. My eyes could no longer visualize properly as my body became a guinea pig for the newfound symptom of numbness. I could do no more than stare up into the intense green eyes of the man I had just murdered and shake from the guilt that overflowed and leaked through my conscience. The very conscience, which caused my now evaporating spirit to crumble like so many times in the past.  
  
  
  
Reno, the red headed man, who I considered my savior during the turbulent years of my childhood, fell to the side and away from my quivering body with a sickly thud. My mind couldn't, or just wouldn't, process the fact that I had killed him. I had actually held a gun to his head and pulled the trigger without recollection of my actions. The food within my stomach churned so bitterly at that very thought, I could no longer hold back the urge to vomit any longer.  
  
  
  
My head turned to the side as an explosion of bile escaped my mouth and fell onto the wooden floor besides me. The room spun as the breath, which caused me to function, was caught in my tightened throat. Everything seemed so unbelievably surreal that I couldn't even begin to make out what was real anymore. The environment, this apartment, my deceased mentor. I even began to think that if I twisted my neck to the side, Reno would no longer be there. He would be gone, just apart of the vapor which filled my dementedly unstable subconscience. But, unfortunately, I didn't have the courage within me to test that theory.  
  
  
  
I wiped my soiled mouth as I summoned enough strength within me to sit up. I was a murderer. I actually killed someone in cold blood without first contemplating the consequences. What was I going to do? I didn't want to spend the rest of my life in prison being the bitch of some lesbian named Bertha. No, I wanted so much more for myself. How could I let my thirst for vengeance overtake the yearning for a life of freedom? I couldn't understand that concept, but then again, even if I possibly could, I didn't think I wanted to.  
  
  
  
"Oh God, what am I gonna do," I whispered to no one in particular as I placed my shaking hands on my forehead. As my fingers touched hot skin, I felt warm, thick beaded moisture on my face and the body, which I thought I had so much control over, quivered in fear. This was real. This was actually reality at its finest and most memorable moment.  
  
  
  
I pulled my hand away from my forehead and saw nothing but crimson droplets of blood, running it's course down my palm and onto my wrist viciously. I was stained with another's blood and that thought made me jump up in agony and roughly wipe my dirtily corrupted hands on my jeans. I cried out angrily as I realized the liquid wasn't completely disappearing, but leaving behind a trail of magenta as a constant reminder.  
  
  
  
"I'm sorry," I whispered while placing my cold hands over my face desperately and feeling hot tears of guilt materializing in my eyes. They burned with a certain sensation that seemed to leave a painful after effect. I hated the bloody bastard, but he didn't deserve this. Nobody did, even if it did save people a lot of future strife. I did want to kill Reno in a way, I would be lying if I said I didn't, but now, as I stand here in the middle of this silent household, I wished I hadn't even come here in the first place.  
  
  
  
I turned my head to the side and finally saw the man I had maliciously taken the life of. I felt as though a pitchfork was stabbing me repeatedly in the stomach while tears of affliction continued to pour from my fluttering eyes. He was young and that thought was what made the guilt within me increase to disproportional heights. I was furious when Yuffie was taken, so young and vibrant. What a hypocrite I was, in result taking a man who was just a little older than she.  
  
  
  
The air around me seemed to thin as my head began to spin and float up towards the roof above. I couldn't take the surroundings any more so my legs, as weak as a wobbling bowl of Jell-O cubes, quickly moved themselves to the front door. I placed my hand on the warm doorknob and looked back.   
  
  
  
"Reno.....I'm sorry that you had to suffer the consequences for your actions, but I won't stand here and say you didn't deserve it. Because you did. You killed the beloved and now, you're going to have to deal with the consequences."  
  
  
  
With that said, I twisted the doorknob, opened the door, and exited back into the reality I had known and grown to appreciate. It was chillier than it had been before, but nothing would beat the abnormal arctic temperatures of the apartment I had just been into. Nothing.  
  
  
  
-------------------------------------------  
  
  
  
[Cuz it's always raining in my head  
forget all the things I should have said]  
  
  
  
He placed the only pair of jeans that could possibly fit into the compact duffel bag while gathering together the other scarce supplies he felt a necessity to carry. This was it, he was actually going to leave Nibelheim. This wasn't some juvenile mission to find himself for a while and then come running back into the arms of familiarity. No, the world was waiting for another victim to swallow into its vast obscene abyss of destruction and loneliness and the fair haired teenager was willing to be it's permanent resident. Cloud Strife was going to leave, and this time, it was for good.  
  
  
  
Shoving the last batch of clothing articles into his escape bag, Cloud zipped it closed and proceeded to drop it to the floor below him. This very moment seemed so very surreal to him. It was almost as though his body was standing completely still in the confines of reality while his mind was floating lifelessly through an alternate universe where his actual body could never reach. He still couldn't process the fact that this was the last time he was ever going to step into this very room and merely dwell in its glory.   
  
  
  
Sighing, Cloud plopped down on his bed and folded his arms across his chest. This house held so many memories of his father. The fact that the essence of Mr. Strife still lingered through these walls kept Cloud in constant position. It was basically the only reason why he stayed as long as he had. Not for his mother. Not for Aeris. Not for his friends. But to hold on to whatever memory he had of his deceased father. Just the realization of basking in this spirit seemed to make the cerulean eyed boy's life so much easier.  
  
  
  
He stared up at the ceiling while placing one of his crossed arms behind his neck. What would happen to Tifa if he decided to leave? He would never know what could have been between them if he left her behind. Never again looking into the depths of her fiery eyes as though he were knocking on heaven's door. Never kissing the portly lips which seemed to overflow with an intense honey-like disposition. She would be gone, like the passing sand through an hourglass. And there, standing completely frozen in the obsolete moment, Cloud would be left with nothing but regret.  
  
  
  
Closing his eyes, Cloud moaned into the invisible air around him and turned on his side. He thought it was so very easy. Pack his things and just leave with the money he had earned from working extensively. He had waited so long for this very moment, which had driven him to the edge of escape, but now that he had achieved it, nostalgia took over his precise planning technique and absolutely obliterated everything. Thoughts of the people Cloud would leave behind and the opportunities he would never be able to claim filled his mentality to the point where he questioned his life's choices.  
  
  
  
Groaning once again, Cloud sat up and ran his hands over his spiked golden strands. It was humanity's weakness. To live a life where you allow destiny to take a drastic turn and lead you in the opposite direction of where you actually were set to go. It's the unexpected result of an emotional attack. Whether it be from regret or fear of change, a minor vibration of doubt could change the course of your well-planned out future in a heartbeat.  
  
  
  
"Cloud, sweetheart, are you in there?"  
  
  
  
"I'm busy," Cloud shouted back after being shaken out of his conflicting thoughts from his mother's remorsefully sounding voice.  
  
  
  
"Please. I really need to speak with you," Mrs. Strife begged, hoping that her son would let her in to apologize for her misdeeds. She loved Cloud so much and in all actuality, no matter how many times they fought, her love grew stronger and stronger each and every day she breathed.  
  
  
  
There was a long pause of silence before Cloud gave permission for his mother to enter. Still remaining seated on his bed, the silent teen watched his parent enter into close proximity of him. She shone with distaste and her face was filled with utterly guilt infested solemn, almost as though she was thinking of something which could possibly make the situation the two were in better. Seeing the woman who gave him life in such a state caused him to equally shine with a guilty relegation.  
  
  
  
"What is it?" Cloud asked more harshly than he had intended as his eyes burned with curiosity and possible resentment of the opposer's thoughts. It was not exactly hatred for his mother that pierced incessantly within his being, but bitter feelings that this woman, who had given birth and was the reason for his mere existence, would most likely be the reason for the reconsideration of his life's choices.  
  
  
  
Recoiling slightly from her son's acidic commentary, Mrs. Strife almost immediately recovered and proceeded to move herself from her previous location at the doorway to Cloud's isolated dresser. She bowed her head down as her heart raced with the obvious intensity of the moment. The nerves within her pulsated so violently, it seemed as though they were only moments away from exploding in absolute anticipation.   
  
  
  
"Cloud," the blonde haired woman began, sighing softly while playing with her thumbs nervously, "I wanted to apologize for my childish behavior downstairs. It was uncalled for. And you were right when you said I was acting like a selfish child. I'm so sorry, baby, I really am. I just. I just miss your father so much. I miss...being loved."  
  
  
  
He didn't say anything. He 'couldn't' say anything from fear of losing control of the cool he had spent years and years perfecting composure of. All Cloud did was sit, Indian-style on his childhood bed, silently and nod dumbly and almost senilely.   
  
  
  
"Aren't you going to say something? Please. Say anything," Mrs. Strife begged, sliding her gaze from down at her hands to the boy in front of her.  
  
  
  
"I have nothing to say, but......good-bye," Cloud replied firmly, a certain strength within him crumbling down along with his security. Looking up from his watchful glance of the bed, he met his mother's confused, yet pained eyes. Tears almost seemed to beg to be set free from their captivity as the family sat in brief contemplation of the occasion.  
  
  
  
"What do you mean, good-bye?"  
  
  
  
The question was so easy. All Cloud had to do was say he was leaving for good and the conversation would be over. Permanently. But something inside the youth told him differently. It was almost as though the ESP of his soul was telling him nothing but storms would torture his voyage if he revealed to his mother the pure yearning he felt to leave Nibelheim. No, Cloud couldn't tell his mother in layman's terms because by doing so, he would be responsible for murdering his mother's hopes of rekindling a bond with her 'estranged' son.  
  
  
  
"I just have to leave for a couple months. Be on my own and figure some things out for myself," Cloud explained, feeling tiny debris of his heart bleeding to oblivion with guilt as the vapor which would linger forever in the confines of his chest and constantly remind him of the sin he would forever be in retribution for.  
  
  
  
"Oh my God," she whispered with a light of realization shining in her sky-pigmented orbs, "you're not coming back, are you?"  
  
  
  
Cloud didn't say another word, but the expression on his face proved his mother's theory correctly stated. The blonde unfolded his legs, from the previous position he was seated in, and swung himself off the comfortably suitable bed he had grown up sleeping in. A bed, which the teenager would sleep in, nevermore.  
  
  
  
"Cloud, no, sweetie! No! Please, don't leave me!"  
  
  
  
Mrs. Strife hoisted herself forward and fell to her knees at her son's feet. Tears streamed from her eyes and onto her perfectly complexioned cheeks as her arms wrapped themselves tightly around his legs. She had never, in all her years of living, acted this immature, but at this moment, it proved extremely necessary. Cloud was all she had left in this harsh, inhumane world. Without him to care and love her, she would surely dissolve into nothingness.  
  
  
  
"Mother! Get off the floor and away from me," he shouted with angry annoyance while reaching down and desperately trying to pry the anxious arms away from his legs, "you're giving a new definition to the word immature, so get up and at least do yourself the favor of grasping onto whatever extremely little dignity you have left!"  
  
  
  
"No! No, please don't leave me. I need you. I need you, sweetheart, and I love you so much. How can you turn your back on someone who loves you with her whole heart and soul, huh? How can you brush off your own mother?"  
  
  
  
"You see what I mean? This is exactly what I hate about you! You act like I don't exist whenever I'm actually here and when you see I'm slipping away from you, you grab onto me with an iron grip! It isn't going to work this time, Mom! It won't work," Cloud exclaimed loudly, pushing his mother backwards and away from his once captive legs.  
  
  
  
"Please," Cloud's mother murmured pathetically as she sat on the carpeted floor with a pleading expression on her face, "I can change. I can change for you. I can be the mother you actually want."  
  
  
  
Cloud shook his head and froze for a moment in contemplation. He hated to see her in such a childish state of mind, but his mother's manipulative attempts to keep him here would not work. He would be damned if this woman kept him here for the remainder of his life. Damned!  
  
  
  
"I don't want you to change. I want you to get up, leave my room, and go about your life as if nothing has happened."  
  
  
  
"Nothing has happened," Mrs. Strife screamed angrily, "My only son is leaving me and you expect me to go about as if nothing as happened! Damn you, Cloud Strife! I will not let you leave! I forbid it!"  
  
  
  
"Take a look at me, mother," Cloud shrieked back in defense while pointing at himself as living, breathing proof of the sudden realization, "I'm not a child anymore! I'm eighteen years old and of age to make my own decisions. You can't forbid any of my ideas. So, get up off the floor and say good-bye to me."  
  
  
  
The crumbling woman cried softly while placing her face into her quivering hands. She could not speak or even look up and face her belligerent opponent. It was over. Mrs. Strife was loosing her only child and there was nothing on earth which would prevent that dreadful action from actually happening.  
  
  
  
Cloud removed his watch over the grieving persona on the floor and moved back to pick up the heavy load of belongings from the floor. Hoisting it over his shoulder, he stopped in front of his mother and shook his head, "I did and still do love you. More than words could ever say. Even, as a child, when I knew you were out parading the town like a whore, I still loved you. You're my mother and no matter what ill-fated sins you commit, that fact will always pose true."  
  
  
  
With that said, the blonde protagonist walked forward, exited the incompetently sullen room, and made his way to the outside world, as his mother, weak and weary, rolled herself up into a small ball and cried herself to sleep over the loss of her only child.  
  
  
  
-------------------------------------------  
  
  
  
[So I speak to you in riddles  
cuz my words get in my way  
I smoke the whole thing to my head  
and feel it wash away]  
  
  
  
She ran through town with a tidal wave of burning sensations washing over her entire being. She couldn't help but wonder if these events were only just a mere nightmare. A nightmare which would only lead her to the comfort of her own bed. But she knew better, for she was not naive. The surfacing of the sky and surroundings were just too real to be a dream. Tifa Lockheart was a murderer and she would have to live with that title for the rest of her existence.  
  
  
  
Rushing through the townspeople, some giving her questioningly odd expressions, Tifa felt her legs begin to give out from underneath her. She would not falter. She was too close to the warmth and security of her own home to fall down and be persecuted by these poor excuses for human beings.  
No, Tifa would not give these people the satisfaction of seeing her in an extremely vulnerable state of being. It would be too easy for them to attack her.  
  
  
  
'I wonder why there's so many people in this part of town. Nobody ever comes....'  
  
  
  
Tifa stopped abruptly as her thoughts halted just as quickly as her physical movements. Sucking in the only breath she could to prevent herself from falling unconscience, the young girl's crimson eyes beheld the Kisargi household and the state of utter pandemonia which was encircling it.  
  
  
  
Mr. Kisargi was on the side with the police officers, most likely telling them his side of the story, tears streaming down his face as Yuffie's fragile body was being carried out of the house in the smaller than average body bag by two very gruff looking men. Tifa's stomach churned once again as tears re-materialized themselves in her large, oval eyes. As her mind headed in all different directions, she noticed many whispering gossip stories from the inconsiderate townspeople, but oddly enough, only one story stood out above all.  
  
  
  
"The girl was clearly on the drugs. I mean her mother walked out on her, I heard her father beat her, and above all little Yuffie was being mentored by that trash, Tifa Lockheart. Tifa's company alone must have caused this."  
  
  
  
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean," Tifa asked harshly, snapping her attention from the retreating morticians to the two plump women standing so close to the angry teenager's side, they could practically be on top of her.  
  
  
  
The two shorter women gave Tifa a nonchalantly bitter side glance while walking away from the crowd, their noses held unnaturally high in the air. Rolling her eyes at the two pompous individuals, Tifa murmured inaudibly low, "Bitch."  
  
  
  
"What are you doing here?"  
  
  
  
Looking over, Tifa noticed a couple of Yuffie's old friends approaching her in a very angry fashion. If you gave them pitchforks, fireplace pokers, and the scarce bonfires of massive proportions ignited behind them, they could be seriously be up for a canonization for the title of angry mob. But no matter how intimidating the rambunctious crowd looked, Tifa remained unmoved and still noticeably taller. True, some of the individuals confronting the innocent teenager were around the same age of their proposed victim, but they were also more verbose than physical.   
  
  
  
"You have some nerve coming here," one of the younger girls spat out viciously, her emerald eyes burning with hatred and a sense of vengeance staining the beauty which could have laid beneath the shadows.  
  
  
  
"Oh, yeah, and why's that?" Tifa asked in bored defensiveness, crossing her arms over her chest and eyeing the teenagers who practically stood begging for a fight, suspiciously.  
  
  
  
"I'll tell you why, Teef. You killed Yuffie. You must be taking real pleasure in watching her being taken out of her house like that. You weren't even her friend, just someone to pass your sickly obsessions on to. I mean, one day you'll die, right? And then who will live the legacy of Tifa the drug addict Lockheart? Yuffie was your perfect target. Young, naive, lost her mother. Heh, sounds kind of familiar, doesn't it?"  
  
  
  
"Tasha, if you want to walk out of here with both legs firmly intact I suggest you shut your mouth," Tifa threatened, beginning to slightly advance on her despicable villain with shimmering, tear infested eyes.  
  
  
  
"Oh, I'm so petrified, Tifa," Tasha began, not stumbling back once at the brunette's grave promises, but on the contrary, also advancing forward so her own stormy gray eyes met fiery crimson ones,   
"So tell me, does it feel good to be a murderer? A murderer to a defenseless girl who could have been someone. Did it feel good to crush Yuffie's chances? Chances you would have never, in this lifetime, been able to have. You're not even human, Tifa, so what the fuck are you doing here on Earth? She would have been so much better off, no, correction, we would 'all' be so much better off if you were never born!"  
  
  
  
Tifa eyes burned with moisture of the agony her soul underwent. Her heart skipped beats as it rampaged itself against the fragile ribs which concealed the vital organ. She wasn't angry at Tasha's accusations, and the embarrassment she experienced, not at all, for if it were another situation, the young and abused would have shrugged it off. But the anger Tifa felt went so much deeper than the attack of her pride and reputation. It went to the sole core of her being. The words being said to her caused Tifa to seriously place into question whether or not she was the reason for Yuffie's untimely death.  
  
  
  
Backing away, with tears falling down her soiled cheeks, Tifa turned around and began walking away from the scene. As she ran her hand through her disheveled hair, small, barely recognizable sobs escaped her parted lips. Her body's sharp pains dulled from the extensively morbid dissatisfaction her heart had no choice but to intake. All eyes, Tifa had noticed, were placed on her retreating form. Eyes, which undoubtedly held the same bitter distaste Tasha's own orbs had proved evident.  
  
  
  
"Yeah, Tifa, run back to your own little shit hole of an internal prison. It's where you belong!"  
  
  
  
Her pace quickened from a sauntering walk to a hastened jog. The tears, which became a sudden infatuation for her eyes to produce, blinded her to the extent of the prevention of any possibility of distinguishing which objects were what. She didn't care though, as long as it got her away from the torment that, in fact, caused her heart to bleed buckets.  
  
  
  
Running through the threshold of her home, Tifa opened the Victorian styled door and entered into the place she called her safe haven or in other words, the sanctuary where nobody would ever be disgraced by her company. Even though she denied admitting to the pleasure she felt whenever she was within these walls, Tifa, inside, knew she soared and swam in inclination of this very household.  
  
  
  
Slamming the door shut, Tifa's back softly hit its ornate components and slid down towards to wooden floor. Placing her slovenly face into blood-dried hands, she desperately cried tears of remorse and benevolence into them. It wasn't possible to feel this helpless, especially when the person experiencing this emotional breakdown was quite possibly the strongest individual you will ever meet.  
  
  
  
"Tifa? Tifa, is that you?"  
  
  
  
Tifa's face shot up from her palms and focused in on her father's worried face. Not being able to speak, Mr. Lockheart's daughter scurried up from her defeated position by the door and into her father's awaiting arms. It was a definite shock to the man, but he would not pull back. This moment was what he had waited for since the moment his wife had grown fatally ill. The moment where father and daughter would rekindle their relationship without reparation for their actions. And he would first cut off his own fingers before allowing any outside influences to destroy this instant trip into pure bliss.  
  
  
  
Tifa held onto Mr. Lockheart's shoulders as her face scrunched up into one of distaste and sobs escaped her mouth openly. Tifa's father held onto his only child's shivering body, rubbing her back and whispering comforting words into her ear. His heart froze at seeing her so broken but it also leapt for undeniable joy at actually having an opportunity to hold her in his arms. He couldn't remember the last time he had hugged Tifa like this, for she wouldn't even let him near her to give some kind of emotional aid at the funeral. Mr. Lockheart couldn't recall this, but he didn't care. The war between father and daughter was over, and now, they could live their lives as any family would.  
  
  
  
"Listen, I have to go," a woman, who appeared to be in her early thirties explained while walking towards the coat rack and rudely disturbing the Kodak moment which was occurring, "because I can obviously see the baby and I are not very important to you."  
  
  
  
Tifa's body froze abnormally still as her sobbing ceased and her arms unwrapped themselves from the older man's shoulder. Pushing away slowly, ruby eyes drifted from the arrogant stranger back to Mr. Lockheart disgustedly. Shaking her head, the disbelieving girl continued to move backwards while whispering, "No. No. No."  
  
  
  
"Tifa, sweetheart, I can explain," Mr. Lockheart began, moving forward to rewrap his arms around his practically destroyed child, but sadly, it proved futile. Tifa easily sidestepped his attempt and continued to shake her head. He wanted her to say something. To scream. To tell him what a bastard he was, but she didn't say a word and that was far worse than any degrading comment that could have been produced by his teenage daughter.  
  
  
  
"No," Tifa shouted once again while flailing her arms around at her father's desperate attempts at reconciliation : "Leave me alone!"  
  
  
  
Allowing more tears to fall, Tifa pushed her father back, ran past him, and up the stairs, not stopping once until she reached her room to slam the door. Screaming, the broken girl swung her arms and knocked over every material which laid neatly on her desk. Falling to the floor, which was now the proper home of shattered glass, Tifa could no longer hold on to her sanity. She could no longer keep herself under control. The animal-like anger erupted as viciously as a volcano of fury, tears proving to be the clear substitution of magma.   
  
  
  
With anger as her fuel, Tifa lifted herself up from her pathetic stance and slowly made her way to the desolate closet. Opening it's door, she reached inside and pulled out a practical sized suitcase and tossed it onto the floor behind her. Not stopping there, Tifa also grabbed as many clothing articles off the hangers and threw it back onto the suitcase. It didn't matter what a hideous mess she was making. All that mattered was getting as many materials as she could into her hands and packing it into that very suitcase lying, at the moment, disfigured on the ground.  
  
  
  
The woods are dark, lovely, deep  
  
  
  
Tifa shoved a hand full of T-shirts into the suitcase once she kneeled on the floor. Reaching over, she also grabbed a pair of old jeans which were laying by her bedside, most likely, unclean. It didn't matter how unorganized the packing was done or what articles of clothing were clean or not. She had to leave by nightfall. That was the only mission that actually counted as important.  
  
  
  
but I have promises to keep  
  
  
  
Standing up once again, Tifa jogged over to the mass destruction of objects which previously resided on her desktop. Rummaging through the insignificant debris, she found the journal and book she had wanted to excavate from the wreckage. Picking it up, she moved back towards the suitcase and dropped both books into its crowded environment without once reconsidering the action.  
  
  
  
And miles to go before I sleep  
  
  
  
Contemplating whether all necessities were packed, a glint of a picture frame caught the thoughtful girl's eye. Almost, as though under hypnosis, Tifa walked towards her bedside and picked the object of her attention up swiftly. It was an old photograph of her mother before Tifa was ever even conceived. She was wearing a long, beautifully flattering yellow sundress. Her hair, the color of a silently perched raven, hung over her shoulders and cascaded down her smooth, bare arms as her ruby eyes shone with the equal brilliance of the smile on her face. What caught everyone's eye, as they looked at the photograph, was not only the beautiful woman, but the expensive shimmering pendant, which hung from the silver chain around Mrs. Lockheart's long, elegant neck. It was a slightly ornate creation with crystal center and a short entwining bottom piece.   
  
  
  
Tifa moved her hand up towards her own neck, grabbed onto a silver chain, and pulled it up, revealing the same pendant which was located in the picture. Her eyes scrutinized the charm as her fingers tightened themselves around its complicated chiseled silver material. Mrs. Lockheart had given her daughter the necklace the moment before she died and ever since then, Tifa had never taken the pendant off.  
  
  
  
Sighing, she placed the necklace back in its secure position within her shirt before returning back with the picture frame in hand. Placing the frame gently into the case, Tifa then zipped it closed, confining all her most valuables into one tight space. It was time to leave and unfortunately the leave would be quick for there was no one to say good-bye to.  
  
  
  
'Cloud.'  
  
  
  
Tifa's thoughts drifted off to the blonde she had grown extremely fond of. Would he care that she would leave for good? Of course he wouldn't. The whole town would be happy. So happy that the minute they all found out Tifa Lockheart had left Nibelheim, a party would be thrown, ironically, in her honor. But still, it would be rude to leave without a proper farewell. He had taken care of her when she had needed him, it was the least she could do in return of his kindness.  
  
  
  
So with a destination in mind, the runaway picked up her suitcase without a second's hesitation and moved herself towards the window. Opening it with one swift tug, Tifa tossed the suitcase out the window and leapt onto the sill to toss herself down as well. She looked back, as it had grown a habit for her to do so, and whispered, "Good-bye, father, I know you tried, but you just didn't try hard enough," before jumping from the window to the tree branch below as an escape route to freedom.  
  
  
  
And miles to go before I sleep  
  
  
  
------------------------------------------- 


End file.
